^^ 












^A v° 



'%' 



■.^^ 



,1> ,o~ 



% 






'^, c'^" 









'oo' 



4: : 



\/ 



'fiiW^i^ 






-.,^' 



'^* 'JO^' '^ ■■; igte^ " ^v!^*- -%.. 



^<^ 



^^'^^ 



•/ 



\' , 



^>._ ..xv ^^'■^^■■ 



' .x^-^. 



A^ 



> ./>. 






% *'-^ xN^^ 









^'Mt^':^'-^ ^- 



.^ -^ 







.\^' >^^. %/'/ 






^%. 






>.^' 












-.^^ ^, 










SELECT STATUTES 

AND OTHER DOCUMENTS 

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 

HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 
1861-1898 



f^y^' 



SELECT STATUTES 

AND OTHER DOCUMENTS 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 



History of the United States 
1861-1898 



EDITED WITH NOTES 
BY 

WILLIAM MACDONALD 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN BROWN UNIVERSITY 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 
1903 

All rights reserved 



3- Z-^^ir 



i OCT Id 1903 



C5LASS a. XXo. No. 

' cory B. 



Copyright, 1903, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 

Set up, electrotyped, and published October, 1903. 



NorivooJ Press 

J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berivick & Smith Co. 

Noriuood, Mass., U.S.A. 



?^^ 



PREFACE 

This volume completes the series of which my " Select Char- 
ters " and " Select Documents " form the other two parts. In 
attempting to bring together, in an orderly and consistent pres- 
entation, the chief constitutional documents of the period from 
1 86 1 to 1898, I have followed, as far as practicable, the prin- 
ciples which governed in the making of the " Select Docu- 
ments," and which are stated in the preface to that volume. 
The wealth of material and the great length of many of the 
documents have compelled a rigorous exclusion of whatever it 
seemed possible to spare. I have thought it better, however, to 
omit entire classes of documents — for example, those relating 
to the public lands — rather than to give a topic, however impor- 
tant, only a fragmentary representation. I shall hope that the 
volume may make easier the systematic study of the period of 
which it treats. 

I have to express my obligations to Professor William A. 
Dunning of Columbia University and Professor Charles H. 
Hull of Cornell University for helpful advice and sugges- 
tions. To Dr. William Jones of Brown University I am 
indebted for the compilation of much of the data embodied in 
the introductory notes. 

WILLIAM MACDONALD. 

Providence, R.I., 
October, 1903. 



Contents 



19 



23 
24, 

<J 25, 

- 26, 



NUMBER 

Call for 75,000 Volunteers. April 15, 1861 

Proclamation declaring a Blockade of Southern Ports. April 19, 

1861 

Act for the Collection of Duties. July 13, 1 86 1 . 

Act for a National Loan. July 17, 1861 .... 

Act authorizing the Employment of Volunteers. July 22, 1861 

Resolution on the Nature and Object of the War. July 22, 1861 

Indemnity for State War Expenses, July 27, 1 86 1 

Act for calling out the Militia. July 29, 1861 

Act to define and punish certain Conspiracies, July 31, 1861 

Supplementary National Loan Act. August 5, 1861 

Confiscation Act. August 6, 1861 

Act authorizing the Seizure of Railroad and Telegraph Lines, 

January 31, 1862 

Act prohibiting the Coolie Trade. February 19, 1862 , 

Act authorizing the Issue of Legal Tender Notes, February 25 

1862 . , 

Act for an Additional Article of War. March 13, 1862 
Act authorizing further Purchase of Coin. March 17, 1862 . 
Joint Resolution on Compensated Emancipation. April 10, 1862 
Act abolishing Slavery in the District of Columbia. April 16, 1862 
Collection of Direct Taxes in Insurrectionary States. June 7, 1862 
Abolition of Slavery in the Territories. June 19, 1862 
Anti-Polygamy Act. July i, 1862 

Oath of Office. July 2, 1862 

Election of Representatives by Districts. July 14, 1862 
Confiscation Act. July 17, 1862 .... 
Act to authorize Payments in Stamps. July 17, 1862 
Militia Act. July 17, 1862 

27. Act admitting West Virginia. December 31, 1862 

28, Emancipation Proclamation, January i, 1863 



I, 

2. 

3- 

4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 
9- 
10. 
II, 
12. 

13- 

14. 

15. 
16. 

17- 
18, 



PAGE 
I 

3 
4 
9 
12 

14 
15 
15 
17 
18 
20 

22 
24 

27 
31 

32 
34 
35 
39 

42 
43 
45 
47 
48 

53 
54 
56 
59 



Viii CONTENTS 

NUMBER 

29. Act to punish Correspondence with Rebels. February 25, 1863 

30. Act to provide Ways and Means for the Support of the Govern 

ment. March 3, 1863 

31. Enrolment Act, March 3, 1863 

32. Act relating to Habeas Corpus. March 3, 1863 . 

33. Act for the Collection of Abandoned Property. March 3, 1863 

34. Resolution against Foreign Mediation. March 3, 1863 

35. Proclamation of Amnesty. December 8, 1863 

36. Supplementary Enrolment Act. February 24, 1864 

37. National Bank Act. June 3, 1864 

38. Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law. June 28, 1864 

39. Intercourse with Insurrectionary States. July 2, 1864 . 

40. Enrolment Act. July 4, 1864 

41. Act to encourage Immigration. July 4, 1864 

42. Proclamation regarding Reconstruction. July 8, 1864 . 

43. Electoral Count. February 8, 1865 

44. Freedmen's Bureau. March 3, 1865 

45. Freedom for Soldiers' Families. March 3, 1865 . 

46. Proclamation of Amnesty. May 29, 1865 .... 

47. Proclamation appointing a Governor for North Carolina. May 29, 

1865 

48. Thirteenth Amendment. December 18, 1S65 

49. Proclamation declaring the Insurrection at an End. April 2, 1866 

50. First Civil Rights Act. April 9, 1866 

51. Supplementary Freedmen's Bureau Act. July 16, 1866 

52. Restoration of Tennessee. July 24, 1866 .... 

53. Election of Senators. July 25, 1866 

54. Franchise in the District of Columbia. January 8, 1867 

55. Elective Franchise in the Territories. January 31, 1867 

56. First Reconstruction Act. March 2, 1867 .... 

57. Tenure of Office Act. March 2, 1867 

58. Act of Indemnity. March 2, 1867 

59. Command of the Army. March 2, 1 867 .... 

60. Abolition of Peonage. March 2, 1867 

61. Payments to Disloyal Persons. March 2, 1867 

62. Second Reconstruction Act. March 23, 1867 

63. Treaty with Russia for the Cession of Alaska. March 30, 1867 

64. Third Reconstruction Act. July 19, 1867 .... 

65. Act suspending Reduction of the Currency. February 4, 1868 

66. Articles of Impeachment. March 2-3, 1868. 

67. Fourth Reconstruction Act. March 1 1, 1868 



CONTENTS 



NUMBER 

68. Act admitting Arkansas to Representation in Congress. June 22, 

1868 

Act admitting North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, 
Alabama, and Florida to Representation in Congress. June 

25, 1868 

Eight-hour Law. June 25, 1868 

Oath of Office. July 11, 1868 

Joint Resolution excluding Electoral Votes of the Late Rebellious 

States. July 20, 1868 

Rights of American Citizens in Foreign States. July 27, 1868 

Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. July 28, 1868 . 

Proclamation granting Full Amnesty. December 25, 1868 . 

Provisional Governments of Virginia, Texas, and Mississippi. Feb- 
ruary 18, 1869 

Extradition Act. March 3, 1869 

Act to strengthen the Public Credit. March 18, 1869 . 

Equal Rights in the District of Columbia. March 18, 1869 . 

Amended Tenure of Office Act. April 5, 1869 . . . . 

Submission of the Constitutions of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas. 
April 10, 1869 

Reconstruction of Georgia. December 22, 1869 , . . . 

Admission of Virginia to Representation in Congress. January 

26, 1870 

Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. March 30, 1870 . 
Act to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment. May 31, 1870 
Redemption and Bank Note Act. July 12, 1870 . 
Naturalization Act. July 14, 1870 
Act for refunding the National Debt. July 14, 1870 
Act for the Restoration of Georgia. July 15, 1870 
San Domingo Commissioners. January 12, 1871 . 
Supplementary Act to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment. February 

28, 1871 

Act to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment. April 20, 187 1 

Treaty of Washington. May 8, 187 1 

Act removing Political Disabilities. May 22, 1872 

Supplementary Federal Election Law. June 10, 1872 

Coinage Act. February 12, 1873 .... 

Act regarding United States Notes and National Bank Currency. 

June 20, 1874 

98. Resumption of Specie Payments. January 14, 1875 

99. Civil Rights Act. March i, 1875 .... 



69. 



70. 

71- 

72. 

73- 

74- 
75- 
76. 

77- 
78. 

79. 



83- 

84. 
85. 
86. 
87. 



199 



201 
203 
204 

205 
206 
208 
211 

213 
214 

215 
216 
217 

219 
221 

224 
226 
227 

235 
238 
242 
246 
247 

249 
262 
268 
290 
291 
294 

296 
301 
303 



CONTENTS 



loo. 

lOI. 
I02. 
103. 

104. 
105. 
106. 
107. 
108. 

109. 

no. 
III. 
112. 

113- 
114. 

"S- 
116. 
117. 
118. 
119. 
120. 
121. 
122. 
123. 
124. 
125. 
126, 
127. 
128. 
129. 
130. 
131. 



July 22, 1876 



July 



Joint Resolution for the Issue of Silver Coin 

Electoral Count Act. January 29, 1877 .... 

Coinage of the Standard Silver Dollar. February 28, 1878 

Act forbidding the further Retirement of Legal Tender Notes 

May 31, 1878 

Use of the Army at the Polls. May 4, 1880 
Purchase of Bonds. March 3, 188 1 .... 
Anti-Polygamy Act. March 22, 1882 .... 
Act restricting Chinese Immigration. May 6, 1882 
National Bank Circulation, Bonds, and Gold Certificates 

12, 1882 

Civil Service Act. January 16, 1883 .... 

Contract Labor Act. February 26, 1885 

Presidential Succession Act. January 19, 1886 . 

Act prohibiting Special Laws in the Territories. July 30, 1886 

Electoral Count Act. February 3, 1887 

Interstate Commerce Act. February 4, 1887 

Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians. 

Ownership of Real Estate in the Territories. 

Retirement of the Trade Dollar. March 3, I 

Anti-Polygamy Act. March 3, 1887 . 

Chinese Exclusion Act. September 13, 1888 

Anti-Trust Act. July 2, 1890 

Silver Purchase Act. July 14, 1890 

" Original Package " Act. August 8, 1890 . 

Anti-Lottery Act. September 18, 1890 

Immigration and Contract Labor. March 3, 1 89 1 

Repeal of the Silver Purchase Act of 1890. November i, 1893 

President Cleveland's Venezuelan Message. December 17, 1895 

Alien Ownership of Real Estate in the Territories. March 2, 1897 

Recognition of the Independence of Cuba. April 20, 1898 

Declaration of War. April 25, 1898 

Annexation of the Hawaiian Islands. July 7, 1898 

Treaty of Paris. December 10, 1898 



February < 
March 3, 



1887 



PAGE 
306 
308 

3^3 

316 
317 
318 
319 

323 

328 
332 
339 
342 
344 
347 
352 
372 
377 
379 
380 
389 
395 
397 
401 
402 
405 
411 

413 
419 
422 
424 
426 
429 



SELECT STATUTES 

AND OTHER DOCUMENTS 

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 

HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

1861-1898 



Select Statutes 

And Other Documents Illustrative of the 

History of the United States 



No. I. Call for 75,000 Volunteers 

April 15, 1861 

The proclamation of April 15 was issued, under authority of the act of 
February 28, 1795, the day after the fall of Fort Sumter. The call on the 
governors of the States was made through the War Department. May 3 a 
further call for 42,034 volunteers to serve for three years, together with an 
order for the increase of the regular army and the enlistment of seamen, was 
issued, the action of the President being legalized by an act of August 6. An 
act of February 24, 1864, authorized the President to call whenever necessary 
for such number of volunteers as might be required. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 1258. Correspond- 
ence with the governors is in the War Records, Series III, Vol. I, pp. 68 scq. 
For comments of the press see Moore, Rebellion Record, I, 64-69 of docu- 
ments. See also Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, I, 254-258. 

By the President of the United States of America : 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas the laws of the United States have been, for some time 
past, and now are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, 
in the States of South CaroUna, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations too powerful to be 
suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by 
the powers vested in the marshals by law : 

Now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the 
United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Consti- 
tution and the laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do 

B I 



2 CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS [April 15 

call forth, the miUtia of the several States of the Union, to the 
aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order to suppress 
said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed. 

The details for this object will be immediately communicated to 
the State authorities through the War Department. 

I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort 
to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our 
National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government ; and 
to redress wrongs already long enough endured. 

I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the 
forces hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, 
places, and property which have been seized from the Union ; and 
in every event, the utmost care will be observed, consistently with 
the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction 
of, or interference with, property, or any disturbance of peacefial 
citizens in any part of the country. 

And I hereby command the persons composing the combina- 
tions aforesaid to disperse, and retire peaceably to their respective 
abodes within twenty days from this date. 

Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an 
extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me 
vested by the Constitution, convene both Houses of Congress. 
Senators and Representatives are therefore summoned to assemble 
at their respective chambers, at twelve o'clock, noon, on Thursday, 
the fourth day of July next, then and there to consider and deter- 
mine such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety and 
interest may seem to demand. 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington, this fifteenth day of April, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
^ ■ ■-■ sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States 
the eighty-fifth. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

By the President : 

WiLLUM H. Seward, Secretary of State. 



1 86 1] PROCLAMATION OF BLOCKADE OF SOUTHERN PORTS 3 

No. 2. Proclamation declaring a Blockade of 
Southern Ports 

April ig, 1861 

In response to the proclamation of April 1 5, calling for 75,000 volunteers, 
Jefferson Davis, as president of the Confederate States, issued, on April 17, a 
proclamation inviting applications for letters of marque and reprisal. The 
proclamation declaring a blockade of Southern ports was issued in rejoinder. 
By a further proclamation of April 27, the blockade was extended to the ports 
of Virginia and North Carohna. 

References. — Texi in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 1258, 1259. Davis's 
proclamation is in Moore, Rebellion Record, I, 71 of documents. The proc- 
lamation was upheld in the Prize Cases, 2 Black, 635. 

By the President of the United States of America: 
A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas an insurrection against the Government of the United 
States has broken out in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, 
Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and the laws 
of the United States for the collection of the revenue cannot be 
effectually executed therein conformably to that provision of the 
Constitution which requires duties to be uniform throughout the 
United States : 

And whereas a combination of persons, engaged in such insur- 
rection, have threatened to grant pretended letters of marque to 
authorize the bearers thereof to commit assaults on the lives, ves- 
sels, and property of good citizens of the country lawfully engaged 
in commerce on the high seas, and in waters of the United States : 

And whereas an Executive Proclamation has been already issued, 
requiring the persons engaged in these disorderly proceedings to 
desist therefrom, calling out a militia force for the purpose of 
repressing the same, and convening Congress in extraordinary 
session to deliberate and determine thereon : 

Now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the 
United States, with a view to the same purposes before mentioned, 



4 ACT FOR THE COLLECTION OF DUTIES [July 13 

and to the protection of the public peace, and the lives and prop- 
erty of quiet and orderly citizens pursuing their lawful occupations, 
until Congress shall have assembled and deliberated on the said 
unlawful proceedings, or until the same shall have ceased, have 
further deemed it advisable to set on foot a blockade of the ports 
within the States aforesaid, in pursuance of the laws of the United 
States and of the law of nations in such case provided. For this 
purpose a competent force will be posted so as to prevent entrance 
and exit of vessels from the ports aforesaid. If, therefore, with a 
view to violate such blockade, a vessel shall approach, or shall 
attempt to leave either of the said ports, she will be duly warned 
by the commander of one of the blockading vessels, who will in- 
dorse on her register the fact and date of such warning, and if the 
same vessel shall again attempt to enter or leave the blockaded 
port, she will be captured and sent to the nearest convenient port, 
for such proceedings against her and her cargo as prize, as may be 
deemed advisable. 

And I hereby proclaim and declare that if any person, under the 
pretended authority of the said States, or under any other pretence, 
shall molest a vessel of the United States, or the persons or cargo 
on board of her, such person will be held amenable to the laws of 
the United States for the prevention and punishment of piracy. 



No. 3. Act for the Collection of Duties 

July 13, 1861 

In his report of July 4, 1861, the Secretary of the Treasury, Chase, called 
the attention of Congress to the fact that " at the ports of several States of 
the Union the collection of lawful duties on imports has been forcibly ob- 
structed and prevented for several months ; " and the draft of a bill " to pro- 
vide for the collection of duties on imports " was submitted. A bill for the 
purpose was reported by the House Committee on Commerce July 9, and 
the next day, by a vote of 136 to 10, was read a third time and passed. The 
bill passed the Senate with only a verbal amendment on the 12th, by a vote 
of 36 to 6, and on the 13th the act was approved. In conformity with the 



1 86 1] ACT FOR THE COLLECTION OF DUTIES 5 

provisions of section five of the act, President Lincoln, on August i6, issued a 
proclamation declaring the inhabitants of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, 
North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, 
and Florida, " except the inhabitants of that part of the State of Virginia 
lying west of the Alleghany mountains, and of such other parts of that State 
and the other States . . . named as may maintain a loyal adhesion to the 
Union and the Constitution, or may be, from time to time, occupied and con- 
trolled by forces of the United States engaged in the dispersion of such insur- 
gents," to be in insurrection. The provisions of the act were made still more 
stringent by an act of May 20, 1862. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 255-258. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Jotirnals and the Congressional Globe, 
37th Cong., 1st Sess, The report of the Secretary of the Treasury is in the 
Globe, Appendix ; see also a letter from Chase explaining the necessity for, 
and asserting the constitutionality of, the proposed measure, ibid., proceedings 
of July 10. For a report of February 21 on the same subject see House Exec. 
D0C.72, 36th Cong., 2d Sess. 

An Act further to provide for the Collection of Duties on Imports, 
and for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever it 
shall in the judgment of the President, by reason of unlawful com- 
binations of persons in opposition to the laws of the United States, 
become impracticable to execute the revenue laws and collect the 
duties on imports by the ordinary means, in the ordinary way, at 
any port of entry in any collection district, he is authorized to 
cause such duties to be collected at any port of delivery in said 
district until such obstruction shall cease ; and in such case the 
surveyors at said ports of delivery shall be clothed with all the 
powers, and be subject to all the obligations of collectors at ports 
of entry ; and the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation 
of the President, shall appoint such number of weighers, gangers, 
measurers, inspectors, appraisers, and clerks as may be necessary, 
in his judgment, for the faithful execution of the revenue laws at 
said ports of delivery, and shall fix and establish the limits within 
which such ports of delivery are constituted ports of entry, as 
aforesaid; and all the provisions of law regulating the issue of 



6 ACT FOR THE COLLECTION OF DUTIES [July 13 

marine papers, the coasting trade, the warehousing of imports, and 
collection of duties, shall apply to the ports of entry so constituted, 
in the same manner as they do to ports of entry established by the 
laws now in force. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That if, from the cause men- 
tioned in the foregoing section, in the judgment of the President, 
the revenue from duties on imports cannot be effectually collected 
at any port of entry in any collection district, in the ordinary way, 
and by the ordinary means, or by the course provided in the fore- 
going section, then and in that case he may direct that the custom- 
house for the district be established in any secure place within 
said district, either on land or on board any vessel in said district 
or at sea near the coast ; and in such case the collector shall 
reside at such place, or on shipboard, as the case may be, and 
there detain all vessels and cargoes arriving within or approaching 
said district, until the duties imposed by law on said vessels and 
their cargoes are paid in cash : Provided, That if the owner or 
consignee of the cargo on board any vessel detained as aforesaid, 
or the master of said vessel shall desire to enter a port of entry in 
any other district in the United States where no such obstructions 
to the execution of the laws exist, the master of such vessel may 
be permitted so to change the destination of the vessel and cargo 
in his manifest, whereupon the collector shall deliver him a written 
permit to proceed to the port so designated : And, provided fur- 
ther, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall, with the approba- 
tion of the President, make proper regulations for the enforcement 
on shipboard of such provisions of the laws regulating the assess- 
ment and collection of duties as in his judgment may be necessary 
and practicable. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, T\\2X it shall be unlawful to 
take any vessel or cargo detained as aforesaid from the custody of 
the proper officers of the customs, unless by process of some court 
of the United States ; and in case of any attempt otherwise to take 
such vessel or cargo by any force, or combination, or assemblage 
of persons, too great to be overcome by the officers of the cus- 
toms, it shall and may be lawful for the President, or such person 



i86i] ACT FOR THE COLLECHON OF DUTIES / 

or persons as he shall have empowered for that purpose, to employ 
such part of the army or navy or militia of the United States, or 
such force of citizen volunteers as may be deemed necessary for 
the purpose of preventing the removal of such vessel or cargo, and 
protecting the officers of the customs in retaining the custody 
thereof. 

Sec. 4. A?id be it further enacted, That if, in the judgment of 
the President, from the cause mentioned in the first section of this 
act, the duties upon imports in any collection district cannot be 
effectually collected by the ordinary means and in the ordinary 
way, or in the mode and manner provided in the foregoing sec- 
tions of this act, then and in that case the President is hereby 
empowered to close the port or ports of entry in said district, and 
in such case give notice thereof by proclamation; and thereupon 
all right of importation, warehousing, and other privileges incident 
to ports of entry shall cease and be discontinued at such port so 
closed, until opened by the order of the President on the cessation 
of such obstructions ; and if, while said ports are so closed, any 
ship or vessel from beyond the United States, or having on board 
any articles subject to duties, shall enter or attempt to enter any 
such port, the same, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, 
and cargo, shall be forfeited to the United States. 

Sec. 5 , A fid be it further enacted, That whenever the President, 
in pursuance of the provisions of the second section of the act 
entitled " An act to provide for calling forth the mihtia to execute 
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, 
and to repeal the act now in force for that purpose," approved 
February twenty-eight, seventeen hundred and ninety-five, shall 
have called forth the militia to suppress combinations against the 
laws of the United States, and to cause the laws to be duly exe- 
cuted, and the insurgents shall have failed to disperse by the time 
directed by the President, and when said insurgents claim to act 
under the authority of any State or States, and such claim is not 
disclaimed or repudiated by the persons exercising the functions 
of government in such State or States, or in the part or parts 
thereof in which said combination exists, nor such insurrection 



8 ACT FOR THE COLLECTION OF DUTIES [July 13 

suppressed by said State or States, then and in such case it may 
and shall be lawful for the President, by proclamation, to declare 
that the inhabitants of such State, or any section or part thereof, 
where such insurrection exists, are in a state of insurrection against 
the United States ; ^ and thereupon all commercial intercourse by 
and between the same and the citizens thereof and the citizens of 
the rest of the United States shall cease and be unlawful so long 
as such condition of hostility shall continue ; and all goods and 
chattels, wares and merchandise, coming from said State or section 
into the other parts of the United States, and all proceeding to 
such State or section, by land or water, shall, together with the 
vessel or vehicle conveying the same, or conveying persons to or 
from such State or section, be forfeited to the United States : Pro- 
vided, Iwwever, That the President may, in his discretion, license 
and permit commercial intercourse with any such part of said State 
or section, the inhabitants of which are so declared in a state of 
insurrection, in such articles, and for such time, and by such per- 
sons, as he, in his discretion, may think most conducive to the 
public interest ; and such intercourse, so far as by him licensed, 
shall be conducted and carried on only in pursuance of rules and 
regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. And the 
Secretary of the Treasury may appoint such officers at places where 
officers of the customs are not now authorized by law as may be 
needed to carry into effect such licenses, rules and regulations ; and 
officers of the customs and other officers shall receive for services 
under this section, and under said rules and regulations, such fees 
and compensation as are now allowed for similar service under 
other provisions of law. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That from and after fifteen 
days after the issuing of the said proclamation, as provided in the 
last foregoing section of this act, any ship or vessel belonging in 
whole or in part to any citizen or inhabitant of said State or part 

1 By an act of July 31, 1861, chap. 32, it was further provided " that the power of 
the President to declare the inhabitants of any State, or any part thereof, in a state 
of insurrection, as provided in the iifth section" of the above act, " shall extend to 
and include the inhabitants of any State, or part thereof, where such insurrection 
against the United States shall be found by the President at any time to exist." 



1 86 1] ACT FOR A NATIONAL LOAN 9 

of a State whose inhabitants are so declared in a state of insurrec- 
tion, found at sea, or in any port of the rest of the United States, 
shall be forfeited to the United States. 

Sec. 7. [The navy may be used to execute the revenue laws.] 
Sec. 8. [Penalties may be mitigated or remitted.] 
Sec. 9. And be it fia-ther enacted, That proceedings on seizures 
for forfeitures under this act may be pursued in the courts of the 
United States in any district into which the property so seized 
may be taken and proceedings instituted; and such courts shall 
have and entertain as full jurisdiction over the same as if the 
seizure was made in that district. 

Approved, July 13, 1861. 



No. 4. Act for a National Loan 

July 17, 1861 

In his message of July 4, 1861, Lincoln asked Congress for "at least" 
400,000 men and $400,000,000 as " the legal means for making this contest a 
short and a decisive one." The Secretary of the Treasury, Chase, in his re- 
port of the same date, recommended loans to the aggregate amount of 
^250,000,000, and submitted the draft of a bill for that purpose. A bill to 
authorize a national loan was introduced in the House by Thaddeus Stevens 
of Pennsylvania, from the Committee of Ways and Means, July 9, and on the 
following day passed by a vote of 153 to 5. The Senate made a number of 
amendments, all of which were concurred in by the House, and on the 17th 
the act was approved. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 259-261. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals and the Cong. Globe, 37th 
Cong., 1st Sess. Chase's report of July 4 is in the Globe, Appendix. On the 
condition of the treasury see House Misc. Doc. 20, 36th Cong., 2d Sess. On 
the general subject see Dewey, Financial History of the United States, chap. 
13, and references there given. 

An Act to authorize a National Loan a?tdfor other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, 
and he is hereby, authorized to borrow on the credit of the 



10 ACT FOR A NATIONAL LOAN [July 17 

United States, within twelve months from the passage of this 
act, a sum not exceeding two hundred and fifty millions of dol- 
lars, or so much thereof as he may deem necessary for the public 
service, for which he is authorized to issue coupon bonds, or 
registered bonds, or treasury notes, in such proportions of each 
as he may deem advisable ; the bonds to bear interest not ex- 
ceeding seven per centum per annum, payable semi-annually, 
irredeemable for twenty years, and after that period redeemable 
at the pleasure of the United States ; and the treasury notes to 
be of any denomination fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
not less than fifty dollars, and to be payable three years after 
date, with interest at the rate of seven and three tenths per 
centum per annum, payable semi-annually. And the Secretary 
of the Treasury may also issue in exchange for coin, and as part 
of the above loan, or may pay for salaries or other dues from 
the United States, treasury notes of a less denomination than 
fifty dollars, not bearing interest, but payable on demand by the 
Assistant Treasurers of the United States at Philadelphia, New 
York, or Boston, or treasury notes bearing interest at the rate 
of three and sixty-five hundredths per. centum, payable in one 
year from date, and exchangeable at any time for treasury notes 
for fifty dollars, and upwards, issuable under the authority of 
this act, and bearing interest as specified above : Provided, That 
no exchange of such notes in any less amount than one hundred 
dollars shall be made at any one time: And provided further, 
That no treasury notes shall be issued of a less denomination 
than ten dollars, and that the whole amount of treasury notes, not 
bearing interest, issued under the authority of this act, shall not 
exceed fifty millions of dollars. 

Sec. 2. [Notes and bonds, how signed, how transferable, etc.] 
Sec. 3. [Books to be opened for subscription for treasury 
notes for ^50 and over, etc.] And the Secretary of the 
Treasury is also authorized, if he shall deem it expedient, be- 
fore opening books of subscription as above provided, to 
exchange for coin or pay for public dues or for treasury notes 
of the issue of twenty-third of December, eighteen hundred and 



l86i] ACT FOR A NATIONAL LOAN II 

fifty-seven, and falling due on the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one, or for treasury notes issued and taken in 
exchange for such notes, any amount of said treasury notes for 
fifty dollars or upwards not exceeding one hundred millions of 
dollars. 

Sec. 4. [Proposals for loan to be published ; most favorable 
offers to be accepted, but at not less than par.] 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury may, if he deem it advisable, negotiate any portion of 
said loan, not exceeding one hundred millions of dollars, in any 
foreign country and payable at any designated place either in 
the United States or in Europe, and may issue registered or 
coupon bonds for the amount thus negotiated agreeably to the 
provisions of this act, bearing interest payable semi-annually, 
either in the United States or at any designated place in 
Europe ; . . . 

Sec. 6. And he it further enacted, That whenever any treasury 
notes of a denomination less than fifty dollars, authorized to be 
issued by this act, shall have been redeemed, the Secretary of 
the Treasury may re-issue the same, or may cancel them and 
issue new notes to an equal amount : Provided, That the aggre- 
gate amount of bonds and treasury notes issued under the fore- 
going provisions of this act shall never exceed the full amount 
authorized by the first section of this act ; and the power to 
issue, or re-issue such notes shall cease and determine after the 
thirty-first of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

Sec. 7. And be it further ejiacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury is hereby authorized, whenever he shall deem it ex- 
pedient, to issue in exchange for coin, or in payment for public 
dues, treasury notes of any of the denominations hereinbefore 
specified, bearing interest not exceeding six per centum per 
annum, and payable at any time not exceeding twelve months 
from date, provided that the amount of notes so issued, or paid, 
shall at no time exceed twenty millions of dollars. 

Sec. 8. [The Secretary of the Treasury to make report to 
Congress of operations under the act.] 



12 EMPLOYMENT OF VOLUNTEERS [July 22 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the faith of the United 
States is hereby solemnly pledged for the payment of the inter- 
est and redemption of the principal of the loan authorized by 
this act. 

Sec. 10. A7id be it further enacted, That all the provisions of 
the act entitled " An act to authorize the issue of treasury 
notes," approved the twenty-third day of December, eighteen 
hundred and fifty-seven, so far as the same can or may be 
applied to the provisions of this act, and not inconsistent there- 
with, are hereby revived or re-enacted. 

Sec. II. [Appropriation of $200,000 for expenses under the 
act.] 

Approved, July 17, 1861. 

♦ 

No. 5. Act authorizing the Employment of 
Volunteers 

July 22, 1861 

A BILL to authorize the employment of volunteers, in accordance with the 
recommendation of President Lincoln in his message of July 4, 1861, was in- 
troduced in the Senate, July 6, by Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, and passed 
that house on the loth by a vote of 34 to 4. On the 12th the action was re- 
considered, and the bill with further amendments was again passed by a vote 
of 35 to 4. The passage of a substitute bill by the House caused a reference 
of the matter to a conference committee, whose report was agreed to by the 
two houses on the i8th. The discussion in each house had to do mainly with 
the details of organization of the volunteers provided for by the bill. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XH, 268-271. For the 
debates see the House and Senate Jotirnals and Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., ist 
Sess. On the efficiency of volunteers and the condition of the militia see 
House Exec. Doc. ^4 and House Report j8, 36th Cong., 2d Sess., and House 
Report I, 37th Cong., ist Sess. A summary view of early military legislation, 
Union and Confederate, is given in McPherson, History of the Rebellion, 
I15-121. 

An Act to autho7-ize the Employment of Volunteers to aid in enforc- 
ing the Laws and protecting Public Property. 
Whereas, certain of the forts, arsenals, custom-houses, navy 
yards, and other property of the United States have been 



i86i] EMPLOYMENT OF VOLUNTEERS 1 3 

seized, and other violations of law have been committed and 
are threatened by organized bodies of men in several of the 
States, and a conspiracy has been entered into to overthrow 
the Government of the United States : Therefore, 
Be it enacted . . ., That the President be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to accept the services of volunteers, either as cavalry, 
infantry, or artillery, in such numbers, not exceeding five hun- 
dred thousand, as he may deem necessary, for the purpose of 
repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, enforcing the laws, 
and preserving and protecting the public property : Provided, 
That the services of the volunteers shall be for such time as the 
President may direct, not exceeding three years nor less than 
six months,^ and they shall be disbanded at the end of the war. 
And all provisions of law applicable to three years' volunteers 
shall apply to two years' volunteers, and to all volunteers who 
have been, or may be, accepted into the service of the United 
States, for a period not less than six months, in the same manner 
as if such volunteers were specially named. Before receiving 
into service any number of volunteers exceeding those now 
called for and accepted, the President shall, from time to time, 
issue his proclamation, stating the number desired, either as 
cavalry, infantry, or artillery, and the States from which they 
are to be furnished, having reference, in any such requisition, to 
the number then in service from the several States, and to the 
exigencies of the service at the time, and equalizing, as far as 
practicable, the number furnished by the several States, accord- 
ing to Federal population.^ 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said volunteers 
shall be subject to the rules and regulations governing the army 
of the United States, and that they shall be formed, by the Pres- 
ident, into regiments of infantry, with the exception of such 

1 A supplementary act of July 25, 1861, provided that volunteers should "be 
mustered in for ' during the war.' " 

2 An act of July 31, 1861, provided that the President, in accepting and organ- 
izing volunteers under this act, " may accept the service of such volunteers without 
previous proclamation, and in such numbers from any State or States as, in his 
discretion, the public service may require." 



14 RESOLUTION ON THE WAR [July 22 

numbers for cavalry and artillery, as he may direct, not to 
exceed the proportion of one company of each of those arms to 
every regiment of infantry, and to be organized as in the regu- 
lar service. . , . 

[The remainder of the act relates to the organization of the 
volunteers, the appointment of officers, etc.] 



No. 6. Resolution on the Nature and Object 
of the War 

July 22, I 86 I 

A RESOLUTION declaratory of the nature and object of the war was offered 
in the House, July 22, i86i, by John J. Crittenden of Kentucky. In the vote 
the resolution was divided, the first part, through the word " capital," being 
adopted by a vote of 122 to 2, and the remainder by a vote of 117 to 2. A 
resolution in practically identical terms was offered in the Senate, July 24, by 
Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, and on the 25th, after a long discussion, was 
adopted, the vote being 30 to 5. The resolutions, which " gave expression 
to the common sentiment of the country," were the only formal declarations 
out of a great number submitted which passed the houses. 

References. — Text in Hotise Journal, 37th Cong., ist Sess., 123. •For the 
debates see the Cong. Globe. A list of the principal declaratory resolutions 
submitted, with the action on each, is given in McPherson, Rebellion, 285-290. 

Resolved . . ., That the present deplorable civil war has been 
forced upon the country by the disunionists of the southern 
States, now in arms against the constitutional government, and 
in arms around the capital ; that in this national emergency. 
Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion or resentment, 
will recollect only its duty to the whole country ; that this war 
is not waged on their part in any spirit of oppression, or for any 
purpose of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing 
or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those 
States, but to defend and maintain the stipremacy of the Consti- 
tution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, 
and rights of the several States unimpaired ; and that as soon 
as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease. 



l86i] CALLING OUT THE MILITIA 1 5 

No. 7. Indemnity for State War Expenses 

July 27, 1861 

A BILL " to indemnify the States for expenses incurred by them in defense 
of the United States " was introduced in the House by Valentine B. Horton of 
Ohio, July 22, considered under suspension of the rules, and passed. The 
bill passed the Senate on the 25th without a division, and on the 27th the act 
was approved. The refunding of duties on arms imported by States was pro- 
vided for by acts of July 10 and July 25, the scope of the latter act being ex- 
tended, by a joint resolution of March 8, 1862, to importations prior to the 
date of the act. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 276. The record of 
proceedings is unimportant. On the war debts of the loyal States see House 
Report lb, 39th Cong., ist Sess. 

An Act to indemnify the States for Expenses incurred by them in 
Defence of the United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, 
and he is hereby, directed, out of any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, to pay to the Governor of any State, 
or to his duly authorized agents, the costs, charges, and expenses 
properly incurred by such State for enrolling, subsisting, cloth- 
ing, supplying, arming, equipping, paying, and transporting its 
troops employed in aiding to suppress the present insurrection 
against the United States, to be settled upon proper vouchers, 
to be filed and passed upon by the proper accounting officers of 
the Treasury. 

Approved, July 27, 1861. 



No. 8. Act for calling out the Militia 

July 29, 1861 

A BILL " to provide for the suppression of rebellion," etc., was introduced 
in the House, July 10, by John A. Bingham of Ohio, and on the l6th passed 
without a division. The bill passed the Senate on the 26th, and on the 29th 
the act was approved. 



l6 CALLING OUT THE MILITIA [July 29 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 281, 2S2. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Jourjials and the Cong. Globe. The 
changes made by the act are set forth in the House proceedings of July 16 ; 
copipare President Buchanan's remarks on the employment of the militia 
under the acts of 1795 and 1807, in his annual message of December 3, i860. 

An Act to provide for the Suppression of Rebellion against and 
Resistance to the Laws of the Ujiited States, and to amend the 
Act entitled ^^ An Act to pi-ovide for calling forth the Militia to 
execute the Laws of the Ufiion,^' &>c., passed February twenty- 
eight, seventeen hundred and ninety-five. 

Be it enacted . . ., That whenever, by reason of unlawful 
obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons, or rebel- 
lion against the authority of the Government of the United 
States, it shall become impracticable, in the judgment of the 
President of the United States, to enforce, by the ordinary 
course of judicial proceedings, the laws of the United States 
within any State or Territory of the United States, it shall be 
lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the 
militia of any or all the States of the Union, and to employ such 
parts of the land and naval forces of the United States as he may 
deem necessary to enforce the faithful execution of the laws of 
the United States, or to suppress such rebellion in whatever 
State or Territory thereof the laws of the United States may be 
forcibly opposed, or the execution thereof forcibly obstructed. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That whenever, in the 
judgment of the President, it may be necessary to use the mili- 
tary force hereby directed to be employed and called forth by 
him, the President shall forthwith, by proclamation, command 
such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respec- 
tive abodes, within a limited time. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the militia so called 
into the service of the United States shall be subject to the same 
rules and articles of war as the troops of the United States, and 
be continued in the service of the United States until discharged 
by proclamation of the President : Provided, That such contin- 
uance in service shall not extend beyond sixty days after the 



iS6i] PUNISHMENT OF CONSPIRACIES 1 7 

commencement of the next regular session of Congress, unless 
Congress shall expressly provide by law therefor : . . . 

Sec. 4. [Penalty for disobedience of orders of President.] 

Sec. 5. A)id be it further enacted, That courts-martial for the 
trial of militia shall be composed of militia officers only. 

Sec. 6. [Fines, how collected and paid.] 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted^ That the marshals of the 
several districts of the United States, and their deputies, shall 
have the same powers in executing the laws of the United States 
as sheriffs and their deputies in the several States, have by law, 
in executing the laws of the respective States. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That sections two, three, 
and four of the act . . . [of February 28, 1795,] . . . and so 
much of the residue of said act and of all other acts as conflict 
with this act are hereby repealed. 

Approved, July 29, 1861. 



No. 9. Act to define and punish certain 
Conspiracies 

July 31, 1861 

A BILL "to define and punish certain conspiracies" was presented in the 
House, July 15, by John Hickman of Pennsylvania, and passed by a vote of 
123 to 7. In the Senate the printing of a minority report submitted by Bayard 
of Delaware and Powell of Kentucky was refused by a vote of 10 to 29, 
and on the 26th the bill in amended form passed the Senate. Nine Senators 
entered a protest against the bill. The amendment of the Senate was con- 
curred in by the House on the 30th, and the next day the act was approved. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 284. The important 
proceedings are those of the Senate for July 24 and 26 {^Cong. Globe, 37th 
Cong., 1st Sess.). 

An Act to define and punish certain Conspiracies. 

Be it enacted . . ., That if two or more persons within any 
State or Territory of the United States shall conspire together 
to overthrow, or to put down, or to destroy by force, the Govern- 



1 8 SUPPLEMENTARY NATIONAL LOAN ACT [Aug. 5 

ment of the United States, or to lexy war against the United 
States, or to oppose by force the authority of the Government 
of the United States ; or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay 
the execution of any law of the United States ; or by force to 
seize, take, or possess any property of the United States against 
tlie will or contrary to the authority of the United States ; or by 
force, or intimidation, or tlireat to prevent any person from 
accepting or holding any office, or trust, or place of confidence, 
under the United States ; each and every person so oft'ending 
shall be guilty of a high crime, and upon conviction thereof in 
any district or circuit court of the United States, having juris- 
diction thereof, or district or supreme court of any Territory of 
tlie United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished 
by a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than 
five thousand dollars ; or by imprisonment, with or without hard 
labor, as the court shall determine, for a period not less than 
six months nor greater than six years, or by both such fine and 
imprisonment. 

Approved, July 31, 1S61. 



No. 10. Supplementarv National Loan Act 

August 5. 1861 

A BILL for the amendment of the loan act of July 17 [No. 4], 1S61, was 
reported by William P. Fessenden of Maine, from the Senate Committee on 
Finance, July 22, and passed the Senate the same day. The Committee of 
Ways and Means of the House reported the bill on the 25th with amendments, 
the most important of which authorized the pa\-ment of interest at nine per 
cent on treasurj' notes, and pledged the receipts from certain duties for the 
payment of the loan. The Senate, on the 29th, struck out both of these 
provisions, and added the section authorizing the issue of five dollar treasury 
notes. The bill received its tinal form from a conference committee, which 
inserted the section suspending in part the subtreasury act of 1S46. The 
report of the conference committee was agreed to by the Senate without a divi- 
sion, and by the House by a vote of S3 to 34. 

Refekenxes. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XH, 313, 314. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., ist Sess., and 
the Cong. Globe. 



1 86 1] SUPPLEMENTARY NATIONAL LOAN ACT 19 

An Aci supplementary to an Act entitled ^'An Act to authorize a 
National Loan, and for other FiirposesT 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby authorized to issue bonds of the United States, bearing 
interest at six per centum per annum, and payable at the pleas- 
ure of the United States after twenty years from date ; and if 
any holder of Treasury notes, bearing interest at the rate of 
seven and three-tenths per centum, which may be issued under 
the authority of the act to authorize a national loan and for 
other purposes, approved July seventeenth, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-one, shall desire to exchange the same for said bonds, 
the Secretary of the Treasury may, at any time before or at the 
maturity of said Treasury notes, issue to said holder, in payment 
thereof, an amount of said bonds equal to the amount which, at 
the time of such payment or exchange, may be due on said 
Treasury notes ; but no such bonds shall be issued for a less 
sum than five hundred dollars, nor shall the whole amount of 
such bonds exceed the whole amount of Treasury notes bearing 
seven and three-tenths per centum interest, issued under said 
act ; and any part of the Treasury notes payable on demand, 
authorized by said act, may be made payable by the Assistant 
Treasurer at Saint Louis, or by the depositary at Cincinnati. 

Sec. 2. [Treasury notes, how executed ; need not have seal.] 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act to 
which this is supplementary as limits the denomination of a por- 
tion of the Treasury notes authorized by said act at not less 
than ten dollars, be and is so modified as to authorize the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury to fix the denomination of said notes at 
not less than five dollars.^ 

Sec. 4. [Additional appropriation of $100,000 for expenses 
under the act.] 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Treasury notes 
authorized by the act to which this is supplementary, of a less 

1 An act of February 12, 1862, authorized an additional issue of $10,000,000 in 
notes of denominations not less than five dollars, the same to be deemed a part of 
the loan of $250,000,000 authorized by the act of July 17, 1861. 



20 CONFISCATION ACT [Aug. 6 

denomination than fifty dollars, payable on demand without 
interest, and not exceeding in amount the sum of fifty millions 
of dollars, shall be receivable in payment of public dues. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the 
act entitled " An Act to provide for the better organization of 
the Treasury, and for the collection, safe-keeping, transfer, and 
disbursements of the public revenue," passed August six, eigh- 
teen hundred and forty-six, be and the same are hereby sus- 
pended, so far as to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to 
deposit any of the moneys obtained on any of the loans now 
authorized by law, to the credit of the Treasurer of the United 
States, in such solvent specie-paying banks as he may select ; 
and the said moneys, so deposited, may be withdrawn from such 
deposit for deposit with the regular authorized depositaries, or 
for the payment of public dues, or paid in redemption of the 
notes authorized to be issued under this act, or the act to which 
this is supplementary, payable on demand, as may seem expedi- 
ent to, or be directed by, the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Sec. 7. And be it further ejiaded, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury may sell or negotiate, for any portion of the loan pro- 
vided for in the act to which this is supplementary, bonds pay- 
able not more than twenty years from date, and bearing interest 
not exceeding six per centum per annum, payable semi-annually, 
at any rate not less than the equivalent of par, for the bonds 
bearing seven per centum interest, authorized by said act. 

Approved, August 5, 1861. 



No. 1 1 . Confiscation Act 

August 6, i86i 

A BILL "to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes" was 
introduced in the Senate, July 15, by Lyman Trumbull of Illinois. When the 
bill was reported by the Committee on the Judiciary, on the 25th, Trumbull 
proposed an additional section, embodying in a shorter form the provisions of 
section four of the act. The amended bill passed the Senate July 22. The 
proposed forfeiture of the claims of owners to such of their slaves as had been 



i86i] CONFISCATION ACT 21 

compelled to work in aid of the rebellion aroused strong opposition in the 
House, but an amendment in the form of a substitute for the final section of 
the Senate bill, being section four of the act as passed, was agreed to, August 3, 
by a vote of 60 to 48. By a vote of 24 to 11 the Senate concurred in the 
amendment of the House, and on the 6th the act was approved. The Confis- 
cation Act was the first legislative step towards emancipation. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 319. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. For the retaliatory act of the Confederate Congress, August 30, 
see Confederate Statutes at Large, 201; on this act see Rhodes, United States, 
III, 465, note 2. On Butler's course see Butler's Book, 256 seq., and War 
Records, Series I, Vol. I, 53; see also Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, IV, 389 seq. 

An Act to confiscate Property used for Insurrectionary Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That if, during the present or any future 
insurrection against the Government of the United States, after 
the President of the United States shall have declared, by proc- 
lamation, that the laws of the United States are opposed, and the 
execution thereof obstructed, by combinations too powerful to be 
suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by 
the power vested in the marshals by law, any person or persons, 
his, her, or their agent, attorney, or employ^, shall purchase or 
acquire, sell or give, any property of whatsoever kind or descrip- 
tion, with intent to use or employ the same, or suffer the same 
to be used or employed, in aiding, abetting, or promoting such 
insurrection or resistance to the laws, or any person or persons 
engaged therein ; or if any person or persons, being the owner 
or owners of any such property, shall knowingly use or employ, 
or consent to the use or employment of the same as aforesaid, all 
such property is hereby declared to be lawful subject of prize 
and capture wherever found ; and it shall be the duty of the 
President of the United States to cause the same to be seized, 
confiscated, and condemned. 

Sec. 2. A7id be it further enacted, That such prizes and capture 
shall be condemned in the district or circuit court of the United 
States having jurisdiction of the amount, or in admiralty in any 
district in which the same may be seized, or into which they 
may be taken and proceedings first instituted. 



22 SEIZURE OF FL\ILR0AD AND TELEGRAPH LINES [Jan. 31 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Attorney-General, 
or any district attorney of the United States in which said 
property may at the time be, may institute the proceedings of 
condemnation, and in such case they shall be wholly for the 
benefit of the United States ; or any person may file an informa- 
tion with such attorney, in which case the proceedings shall be 
for the use of such informer and the United States in equal parts. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever hereafter, 
during the present insurrection against the Government of the 
United States, any person claimed to be held to labor or service 
under the law of any State, shall be required or permitted by the 
person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or by 
the lawful agent of such person, to take up arms against the 
United States, or shall be required or permitted by the person 
to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or his law- 
ful agent, to work or to be employed in or upon any fort, navy 
yard, dock, armory, ship, entrenchment, or in any military or 
naval service whatsoever, against the Government and lawful 
authority of the United States, then, and in every such case, the 
person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due shall 
forfeit his claim to such labor, any law of the State or of the 
United States to the contrary notwithstanding. And whenever 
thereafter the person claiming such labor or service shall seek to 
enforce his claim, it shall be a full and sufficient answer to such 
claim that the person whose service or labor is claimed had been 
employed in hostile service against the Government of the 
United States, contrary to the provisions of this act. 

Approved, August 6, 1861. 



No. 12. Act authorizing the Seizure of Rail- 
road and Telegraph Lines 

January 31, 1862 

In his report of July l, 1861, the Secretary of War, Cameron, stated that 
the resistance to the passage of troops through Baltimore, the destruction of 



i8C2] SEIZURE OF RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH LINES 23 

bridges on certain railroads, and the refusal of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road Company to transport government forces and supplies, had made it 
necessary " to take possession of so much of the railway lines as was required 
to form a connection with the States from which troops and supplies were 
expected ; " and an appropriation for the construction and operation, when 
necessary, of railroad and telegraph lines was recommended. Further specific 
recL/mmendations for construction were made in the annual report of Decem- 
ber I. A bill in accordance with the earlier recommendation was reported to 
the Senate, January 22, by Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio, from the Joint Com- 
mittee on the Conduct of the War, and passed with amendments on the 28th 
by a vote of 23 to 12. The next day, by a vote of 113 to 28, the bill passed 
the House, and on the 31st the act was approved. An order taking military 
possession of all railroads was issued May 25. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 334, 335. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The debate in the Senate is of most importance. Cameron's 
report of 1861 is in the Globe, Appendix. 

An Act to atithorize the President of the United States in certain 
Cases to take Possession of Railroad and Telegraph Lines, and 
for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the President of the United States, 
when in his judgment the public safety may require it, be, and 
he is hereby authorized to take possession of any or all the tele- 
graph lines in the United States, their offices and appurtenances ; 
to take possession of any or all the railroad lines in the United 
States, their rolling-stock, their offices, shops, buildings, and all 
their appendages and appurtenances ; to prescribe rules and 
regulations for the holding, using, and maintaining of the afore- 
said telegraph and railroad lines, and to extend, repair, and com- 
plete the same,' in the manner most conducive to the safety and 
interest of the Government ; to place under military control all 
the officers, agents, and employes belonging to the telegraph and 
railroad lines thus taken possession of by the President, so that 
they shall be considered as a post road and a part of the military 
establishment of the United States, subject to all the restrictions 
imposed by the rules and articles of war. 

1 By a joint resolution of July 14, 1862, so much of the act as authorized the con- 
struction, extension, or completion of any railroad was repealed. 



24 PROHIBITION OF THE COOLIE TRADE [Feb. 19 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any attempt by any 
party or parties whomsoever, in any State or District in which 
the laws of the United States are opposed, or the execution 
thereof obstructed by insurgents and rebels against the United 
States, too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of 
judicial proceedings, to resist or interfere with the unrestrained 
use by Government of the property described in the preceding 
section, or any attempt to injure or destroy the property afore- 
said, shall be punished as a military offence, by death, or such 
other penalty as a court-martial may impose. 

Sec. 3. A?id be it further enacted, That three commissioners 
shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to assess and 
determine the damages suffered, or the compensation to which 
any railroad or telegraph company may be entitled by reason of 
the railroad or telegraph line being seized and used under the 
authority conferred by this act, and their award shall be sub- 
mitted to Congress for their action. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the transportation of 
troops, munitions of war, equipments, military property and 
stores, throughout the United States, shall be under the immedi- 
ate control and supervision of the Secretary of War and such 
agents as he may appoint ; and all rules, regulations, articles, 
usages, and laws in conflict with this provision are hereby annulled. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, . . . that the provisions 
of this act, so far as it relates to the operating and using said rail- 
roads and telegraphs, shall not be in force any longer than is 
necessary for the suppression of this rebellion. 

Approved, January 31, 1862. 



No. 13. Act prohibiting the CooHe Trade 

February 19, 1862 

A BILL to prohibit the coolie trade by American citizens was introduced in 
the House, December 5, 1861, by Thomas D. Eliot of Massachusetts, and 



1 862] PROHIBITION OF THE COOLIE TRADE 2$ 

passed the House with amendments January 15. January 31, with further 
amendments, it passed the Senate. The House concurred in the Senate 
amendments February 14, and on the 19th the act was approved. The pro- 
visions of the act were extended to Japanese and other oriental cooHes by act 
of February 9, 1869. An act of March 3, 1875, chap, 141, sec. 4, imposed 
penalties for contracting to import coolies, etc. 

References. — Texi in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 340, 341. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess,,and the 
Cong. Globe. 

An Act to prohibit the " Coolie Trade " by America?t Citizens in 
American Vessels. 

Be it enacted . . ., That no citizen or citizens of the United 
States, or foreigner coming into or residing within the same, shall, 
for himself or for any other person whatsoever, either as master, 
factor, owner, or otherwise, build, equip, load, or otherwise prepare, 
any ship or vessel, or any steamship or steam-vessel, registered, 
enrolled, or licensed, in the United States, or any port within the 
same, for the purpose of procuring from China, or from any port 
or place therein, or from any other port or place the inhabitants 
or subjects of China, known as " coolies," to be transported to any 
foreign country, port, or place whatever, to be disposed of, or sold, 
or transferred, for any term of years or for any time whatever, as 
servants or apprentices, or to be held to service or labor. And 
if any ship or vessel, steamship, or steam-vessel, belonging in 
whole or in part to citizens of the United States, and registered, 
enrolled, or otherwise licensed as aforesaid, shall be employed for 
the said purposes, or in the "coolie trade," so called, or shall be 
caused to procure or carry from China or elsewhere, as aforesaid, 
any subjects of the Government of China for the purpose of trans- 
porting or disposing of them as aforesaid, every such ship or vessel, 
steamship, or steam-vessel, her tackle, apparel, furniture, and other 
appurtenances, shall be forfeited to the United States, and shall 
be liable to be seized, prosecuted, and condemned in any of the 
circuit courts or district courts of the United States for the district 
where the said ship or vessel, steamship, or steam-vessel, may be 
found, seized, or carried. 



26 PROHIBITION OF THE COOLIE TRADE [Feb. 19 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall 
so build, fit out, equip, load, or otherwise prepare, or who shall 
send to sea, or navigate, as owner, master, factor, agent, or other- 
wise, any ship or vessel, steamship, or steam-vessel, belonging in 
whole or in part to citizens of the United States, or registered, 
enrolled, or licensed within the same, or at any port thereof, 
knowing or intending that the same shall be employed in that 
trade or business aforesaid, contrary to the true intent and mean- 
ing of this act, or in anywise aiding or abetting therein, shall be 
severally liable to be indicted therefor, and, on conviction thereof, 
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars and 
be imprisoned not exceeding one year. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That if any citizen or citizens 
of the United States shall, contrary to the true intent and meaning 
of this act, take on board of any vessel, or receive or transport 
any such persons as are above described in this act, for the pur- 
pose of disposing of them as aforesaid, he or they shall be liable 
to be indicted therefor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be liable 
to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars and be imprisoned 
not exceeding one year. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act 
hereinbefore contained shall be deemed or construed to apply to 
or affect any free and voluntary emigration of any Chinese sub- 
ject, or to any vessel carrying such person as passenger on board 
the same : [but a consular certificate to be required in such case]. 

Sec. 5. [Provisions of acts of February 22, 1847, ^^^ March 3, 
1849, relating to passengers in merchant vessels, to apply to such 
vessels carrying passengers between foreign ports.] 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the President of the 
United States shall be, and he is hereby, authorized and em- 
powered, in such way and at such time as he shall judge proper to 
the end that the provisions of this act may be enforced according 
to the true intent and meaning thereof, to direct and order the 
vessels of the United States, and the masters and commanders 
thereof, to examine all vessels navigated or owned in whole or in 
part by citizens of the United States, and registered, enrolled, 



1 862] ISSUE OF LEGAL TENDER NOTES 2/ 

or licensed under the laws of the United States, wherever they 
may be, whenever, in the judgment of such master or command- 
ing officer thereof, reasonable cause shall exist to believe that such 
vessel has on board, in violation of the provisions of this act, any 
subjects of China known as " coolies," for the purpose of transpor- 
tation ; and upon sufficient proof that such vessel is employed in 
violation of the provisions of this act, to cause such vessel to be 
carried, with her officers and crew, into any port or district within 
the United States, and delivered to the marshal of such district, 
to be held and disposed of according to the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 7. And be it fm-ther enacted, That this act shall take effect 
from and after six months from the day of its passage. 

Approved, February 19, 1862. 



No. 14. Act authorizing the Issue of Legal 
Tender Notes 

February 25, 1862 

In his annual report of December 9, 1861, Secretary Chase stated that 
loans to the amount of $200,000,000 would be required to meet the estiinated 
expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1862. He proposed the 
estabhshment of a national banking system, but did not recommend the fur- 
ther issue of treasury notes. December 28 the New York banks suspended 
specie payment. By a joint resolution of January 21, 1862, Congress an- 
nounced its intention of raising $150,000,000 by taxes and duties. January 22 
Elbridge G. Spaulding of New York reported to the House, from the Com- 
mittee of Ways and Means, a bill to authorize the issue of legal tender notes, 
etc., being a substitute for a bill for the issue of $100,000,000 demand notes, 
but without the legal tender provision, reported by Spaulding January 7. The 
bill encountered strong opposition both in and out of Congress, but on Feb- 
ruary 6 it passed the House, with various amendments, by a vote of 93 to 59. 
On the 13th the Senate, by a vote of 17 to 22, rejected an amendment strik- 
ing out the legal tender clause, and passed the bill with amendments by a 
vote of 30 to 7. The House refusing to concur in the amendments of the 
Senate, the bill went to a conference committee, whose report was accepted 
on the 24th by the House by a vote of 98 to 22, and by the Senate without a 
division. The next day, however, on the motion of Fessenden, the action of 



28 ISSUE OF LEGAL TENDER NOTES [Feb. 25 

the Senate was reconsidered and a second conference asked for. The report 
of this committee was accepted by the houses, and on the 25th the act was 
approved. A further issue of legal tender notes, to the amount of $150,000,000, 
was authorized by an act of July il, a third, to the amount of $100,000,000, 
by a joint resolution of January 17, 1863, and a fourth, of $150,000,000, 
March 3, 1863. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XH, 345-348. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe, where are also the texts of the numerous amendments offered. 
Morrill's substitute, embodying the recommendations of business men and 
bankers in consultation with Chase, and without the legal tender clause, is 
summarized in the Globe for February 4. On the constitutionality of the legal 
tender provision see Hepburn v, Griswold, 8 Wallace, 603 ; Legal Tender 
Cases, 12 ibid., 457 ; Juillard v. Gree^itnan, iio U.S. Reports, 421. On the 
general subject see Hart, Sabnon P. Chase, chaps. 9, il ; McCall, Thaddeus 
Stevens, chaps. 9, 10; Rhodes, United States, \1\, 558-572 ; Dewey, Financial 
History, chap. 12; E. J. James in Publ. Amer. Econ. Assoc. ,^q\. Ill; Bancroft, 
Plea for the Constitution ; John Sherman, Recollections, I, chap. 12; Blaine, 
Twenty Years of Congress, I, chap. 1 8. 

An Act to authorize the Issue of United States Notes, and for the 
Redemption or Fu tiding thereof and for Funding the Floating 
Debt of the United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby authorized to issue, on the credit of the United States, 
one hundred and fifty milHons of dollars of United States notes, 
not bearing interest, payable to bearer, at the Treasury of the 
United States, and of such denominations as he may deem ex- 
pedient, not less than five dollars each : Provided, hoivever. That 
fifty millions of said notes shall be in lieu of the demand Treas- 
ury notes authorized to be issued by the act of July seventeen, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one ; which said demand notes shall 
be taken up as rapidly as practicable, and the notes herein 
provided for substituted for them: And provided fu7-ther, That 
the amount of the two kinds of notes together shall at no time 
exceed the sum of one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, 
and such notes herein authorized shall be receivable in pay- 
ment of all taxes, internal duties, excises, debts, and demands 
of every kind due to the United States, except duties on imports, 



1862] ISSUE OF LEGAL TENDER NOTES 29 

and of all claims and demands against the United States of 
every kind whatsoever, except for interest upon bonds and 
notes, which shall be paid in coin, and shall also be lawful 
money and a legal tender in payment of all debts, public and 
private, within the United States, except duties on imports and 
interest as aforesaid. And any holders of said United States 
notes depositing any sum not less than fifty dollars, or some 
multiple of fifty dollars, with the Treasurer of the United States, 
or either of the Assistant Treasurers, shall receive in exchange 
therefor duplicate certificates of deposit, one of which may be 
transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall there- 
upon issue to the holder an equal amount of bonds of the United 
States, coupon or registered, as may by said holder be desired, 
bearing interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable 
semi-annually, and redeemable at the pleasure of the United 
States after five years, and payable twenty years from the date 
thereof. And such United States notes shall be received the 
same as coin, at their par value, in payment for any loans that 
may be hereafter sold or negotiated by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, and may be re-issued from time to time as the exigen- 
cies of the public interests shall require. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That to enable the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury to fund the Treasury notes and floating 
debt of the United States, he is hereby authorized to issue, on 
the credit of the United States, coupon bonds, or registered 
bonds, to an amount not exceeding five hundred millions of 
dollars, redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after 
five years, and payable twenty years from date, and bearing 
interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable semi- 
annually. And the bonds herein authorized shall be of such 
denominations, not less than fifty dollars, as may be determined 
upon by the Secretary of the Treasury. And the Secretary of 
the Treasury may dispose of such bonds at any time, at the 
market value thereof, for the coin of the United States, or for 
any of the Treasury notes that have been or may hereafter be 
issued under any former act of Congress, or for United States 



30 ISSUE OF LEGAL TENDER NOTES [Feb. 25 

notes that may be issued under the provisions of this act ; and 
all stocks, bonds, and other securities of the United States held 
by individuals, corporations, or associations, within the United 
States, shall be exempt from taxation by or under State 
authority. 

Sec. 3. [Form of treasury notes and coupon or registered 
bonds ; how signed, countersigned, and sealed. Provisions of 
act of December 23, 1857, revived. Appropriation of ^300,000 
to carry the act into effect.] 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury may receive from any person or persons, or any cor- 
poration. United States notes on deposit for not less than thirty 
days, in sums of not less than one hundred dollars, with any of 
the Assistant Treasurers or designated depositaries of the 
United States authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury to 
receive them, who shall issue therefor certificates of deposit, 
made in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury shall pre- 
scribe, and said certificates of deposit shall bear interest at the 
rate of five per centum per annum ; and any amount of United 
States notes so deposited may be withdrawn from deposit at 
any time after ten days' notice on the return of said certificates : 
Provided, That the interest on all such deposits shall cease 
and determine at the pleasure of the Secretary of the Treasury : 
And provided further, That the aggregate of such deposit shall 
at no time exceed the amount of twenty-five millions of dollars. 

Sec. 5. And be it further e7iacted. That all duties on imported 
goods shall be paid in coin, or in notes payable on demand 
heretofore authorized to be issued and by law receivable in pay- 
ment of public dues, and the coin so paid shall be set apart as 
a special fund, and shall be applied as follows : 

First. To the payment in coin of the interest on the bonds 
and notes of the United States. 

Second. To the purchase or payment of one per centum of 
the entire debt of the United States, to be made within each 
fiscal year after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-two, which is to be set apart as a sinking fund, and the 



i862] ADDITIONAL ARTICLE OF WAR 3 1 

interest of which shall in like manner be applied to the purchase 
or payment of the public debt as the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall from time to time direct. 

Third. The residue thereof to be paid into the Treasury of 
the United States. 

[Sections 6 and 7 provide for the punishment of counterfeit- 
ing or altering treasury notes.] 

Approved, February 25, 1862. 



No. 15. Act for an Additional Article of War 

March 13, 1862 

July 9, 1861, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 92 to 55, resolved 
that " it is no part of the duty of the soldiers of the United States to capture 
and return fugitive slaves." December 23 the House Committee on Military 
Affairs was instructed to report a bill to make an additional article of war for- 
bidding the use of the United States troops to return fugitives from service or 
labor. A bill to that effect was reported February 25, and passed, after much 
obstructive opposition, by a vote of 95 to 51. March 10, in the Senate, an 
amendment " that this article shall not apply in the States of Delaware, Mary- 
land, Missouri, and Kentucky, nor elsewhere where the federal authority is 
recognized or can be enforced," was rejected, and the bill, by a vote of 29 to 9, 
passed. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 354. For the debates 
see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess.^ and the Cong, Globe. 
Various military orders and reports relating to the subject are collected in 
McPherson, Rebellion, 244 seq. 

A?i Ad to make an additional Article of War. 

Be it enacted . . ., That hereafter the following shall be pro- 
mulgated as an additional article of war for the government of 
the army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed 
as such : 

Article — . All officers or persons in the military or naval ser- 
vice of the United States are prohibited from employing. any of 
the forces under their respective commands for the purpose of 
returning fugitives from service or labor, who may have escaped 



32 PURCHASE OF COIN [March 17 

from any persons to whom such service or labor is claimed to be 
due, and any officer who shall be found guilty by a court-martial 
of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take 
effect from and after its passage. 

Approved, March 13, 1862. 



No. 16. Act authorizing further Purchase of 
Coin 

March 17, 1862 

The immediate occasion for so much of the act of March 17 as relates to 
the purchase of coin was the inability of the treasury to obtain, under existing 
laws, enough coin to pay the interest on the public debt. The bill, in sub- 
stance as suggested by the Treasury Department, was introduced in the House, 
March 6, by Thaddeus Stevens, from the Committee of Ways and Means, and 
passed the next day. The Senate added the provisions contained in section 
three of the act, the bill receiving its final form from a conference committee. 

References. — Text in U.S. Stahiies at Large, XH, 370. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. 

An Ad to authorize the Purchase of Coin, and for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury may 
purchase coin with any of the bonds or notes of the United 
States, authorized by law, at such rates and upon such terms as 
he may deem most advantageous to the public interest ; and 
may issue, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, 
certificates of indebtedness, such as are authorized by an act 
entitled " An act to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury 
to issue certificates of indebtedness to pubhc creditors," 
approved March first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two,^ to such 

1 The act provided that ' the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby 
authorized, to cause to be issued to any public creditor who may be desirous to 
receive the same, upon requisition of the Head of the proper Department in satis- 



iS62] PURCHASE OF COIN 33 

creditors as may desire to receive the same, in discharge of 
checks drawn by disbursing officers upon sums placed to their 
credit on the books of the Treasurer, upon requisitions of the 
proper departments, as well as in discharge of audited and set- 
tled accounts, as provided by said act. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the demand notes author- 
ized by the act of July seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
one, and by the act of February twelfth, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-two, shall, in addition to being receivable inpayment of duties 
on imports, be receivable, and shall be lawful money and a legal 
tender, in like manner, and for the same purposes, and to the 
same extent, as the notes authorized by an act entitled " An act 
to authorize the issue of United States notes, and for the re- 
demption or funding thereof, and for funding the floating debt 
of the United States," approved February twenty-fifth, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-two. 

Sec. 3. And be it fia-ther enacted, That the limitation upon 
temporary deposits of United States notes with any assistant 
treasurers or designated depositaries, authorized by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury to receive such deposits, at five per cent, 
interest, to twenty-five millions of dollars, shall be so far modi- 
fied as to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to receive such 
deposits to an amount not exceeding fifty millions of dollars, 
and that the rates of interest shall be prescribed by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury not exceeding the annual rate of five 
per centum. 

Sec. 4. [The Secretary of the Treasury in reissuing notes 
may replace mutilated ones.] 

Approved, March 17, 1862. 

faction of audited and settled demands against the United States, certificates for the 
whole amount due or parts thereof not less than one thousand dollars, signed by 
the Treasurer of the United States, and countersigned as may be directed by the 
Secretary of the Treasury ; which certificate shall be payable in one year from date 
or earlier, at the option of the Government, and shall bear interest at the rate of six 
per centum per annum." 



34 COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION [April lo 

No. 17. Joint Resolution on Compensated 
Emancipation 

April 10, 1862 

The first proposition for compensated emancipation seems to have been 
brought forward by James B. McKean of New York, who introduced in the 
House, February 11, 1861, a resolution for the appointment of a select com- 
mittee to inquire into the practicability of emancipating the slaves in the bor- 
der States. No action was taken on the resolution. In a special message to 
Congress, March 6, 1862, Lincoln recommended the adoption of a resolution 
in the identical terms of the resolution following. The resolution was intro- 
duced in the House, March 10, by Roscoe Conkling of New York, under sus- 
pension of the rules, and the next day passed by a vote of 97 to 36. The 
Senate passed the resolution April 2, the vote being 32 to 10. April 7, by a 
vote of 67 to 52, the House adopted a resolution, submitted by Albert S. 
White of Indiana, for the appointment of a select committee of nine on com- 
pensated emancipation in the border States. On March 10, and again on 
July 12, Lincoln had interviews with representatives of the border States, but 
the conferences were fruitless. In his proclamation of May 19, setting aside 
General Hunter's proclamation declaring free the slaves in Georgia, Florida, 
and South Carolina, Lincoln made an earnest plea for the acceptance of the 
offer proposed by the resolution, while in his annual message of December i, 
1862, he discussed the subject at length, and proposed an amendment to the 
Constitution to carry the plan into effect. Bills providing for compensated 
emancipation in Missouri and Maryland were introduced in the House in 
January, 1863, but failed to pass. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 617. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Seriate Journals, 37th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. Papers relating to Lincoln's interviews with representatives of 
the border States are in McPherson, Rebellion, 213-220. See also Senate Re- 
port 12 and House Report 148, 37th Cong., 2d Sess.; House Report jj, 39th 
Cong., 1st Sess.; Rhodes, United States, III, 630-636; Nicolay and Hay, 
Lincoln, V, chap. 12. 

Jomt Resolution declaring that the United States ought to cooperate 
with, affording pecuniary Aid to any State which may adopt the 
gradual Abolishment of Slavery. 

Be it resolved . . ., That the United States ought to cooper- 
ate with any State which may adopt gradual abolishment of 



i862] SLAVERY IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 35 

slavery, giving to such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such 
State in its discretion, to compensate for the inconveniences, 
pubUc and private, produced by such change of system. 
Approved, April 10, 1862. 



No. 18. Act abolishing Slavery in the District 
of Columbia 

April 16, 1862 

A BILL "for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the 
District of Columbia" was introduced in the Senate, December 16, 1861, by 
Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. The debate on the bill began March 12 and 
developed much opposition, but April 3, by a vote of 29 to 14, the bill passed. 
In the House a motion to reject the bill was lost, 45 to 93, and on the i ith the 
bill passed, the final vote being 85 to 40. In his message of approval Lincoln 
suggested that further time be allowed for the presentation of claims, and that 
provision be made for " minors, fetnmes covert, insane, or absent persons" ; 
and a supplementary act was passed July 12 embodying these changes. The 
civil appropriation act of July 16 made an appropriation of ^500,000 for the 
removal and colonization of the emancipated negroes, but this, as to the unex- 
pended balance, together with section eleven of the act of April 16, was re- 
pealed by the civil appropriation act of July 2, 1864. Acts of May 20 and 21 
provided for the education of colored children in the District. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 376-378. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. Calvert's minority report, March 12, is House Report ^8. For 
a report of the commissioners see Hotise Exec. Doc. ^p, 38th Cong., 1st Sess. 

An Act for the Release of certain Persons held to Service or Labor 
in the District of Columbia. 

Be it enacted . . ., That all persons held to service or labor 
within the District of Columbia by reason of African descent are 
hereby discharged and freed of and from all claim to such service 
or labor ; and from and after the passage of this act neither slav- 
ery nor involuntary servitude, except for crime, whereof the party 
shall be duly convicted, shall hereafter exist in said District. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all persons loyal to the 



36 SLAVERY IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA [April i6 

United States, holding claims to service or labor against persons 
discharged therefrom by this act, may, within ninety days from the 
passage thereof, but not thereafter, present to the commissioners 
hereinafter mentioned their respective statements or petitions in 
writing, verified by oath or affirmation, setting forth the names, 
ages, and personal description of such persons, the manner in which 
said petitioners acquired such claim, and any facts touching the 
value thereof, and declaring his allegiance to the Government of 
the United States, and that he has not borne arms against the 
United States during the present rebellion, nor in any way given 
aid or comfort thereto : Provided, That the oath of the party to 
the petition shall not be evidence of the facts therein stated. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President of the 
United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 
appoint three commissioners, residents of the District of Colum- 
bia, any two of whom shall have power to act, who shall receive 
the petitions above mentioned, and who shall investigate and de- 
termine the validity and value of the claims therein presented, as 
aforesaid, and appraise and apportion, under the proviso hereto 
annexed, the value in money of the several claims by them found 
to be valid : Provided, hoivevcr, That the entire sum so appraised 
and apportioned shall not exceed in the aggregate an amount equal 
to three hundred dollars for each person shown to have been so 
held by lawful claim : And provided, further, That no claim shall 
be allowed for any slave or slaves brought into said District after 
the passage of this act, nor for any slave claimed by any person 
who has borne arms against the Government of the United States 
in the present rebellion, or in any way given aid or comfort thereto, 
or which originates in or by virtue of any transfer heretofore made, 
or which shall hereafter be made by any person who has in any 
manner aided or sustained the rebellion against the Government 
of the United States. 

Sec. 4. And be it fa-ther enacted. That said commissioners shall, 
within nine months from the passage of this act, make a full and 
final report of their proceedings, findings, and appraisement, and 
shall deliver the same to the Secretary of the Treasury, which report 



iS62] SLAVERY IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 37 

shall be deemed and taken to be conclusive in all respects, except 
as hereinafter provided ; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall, 
with like exception, cause the amounts so apportioned to said 
claims to be paid from the Treasury of the United States to the 
parties found by said report to be entitled thereto as aforesaid, 
and the same shall be received in full and complete compensation : 
Provided, That in cases where petitions may be filed presenting 
conflicting claims, or setting up liens, said commissioners shall so 
specify in said report, and payment shall not be made according 
to the award of said commissioners until a period of sixty days 
shall have elapsed, during which time any petitioner claiming an in- 
terest in the particular amount may file a bill in equity in the Circuit 
Court of the District of Columbia, making all other claimants defend- 
ants thereto, setting forth the proceedings in such case before said 
commissioners and their action therein, and praying that the party 
to whom payment has been awarded may be enjoined from receiv- 
ing the same ; and if said court shall grant such provisional order, a 
copy thereof may, on motion of said complainant, be served upon 
the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall thereupon cause the said 
amount of money to be paid into said court, subject to its orders 
and final decree, which payment shall be in full and complete 
compensation, as in other cases. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That said commissioners shall 
hold their sessions in the city of Washington, at such place and 
times as the President of the United States may direct, of which 
they shall give due and public notice. They shall have power to 
subpoena and compel the attendance of witnesses, and to receive 
testimony and enforce its production, as in civil cases before courts 
of justice, without the exclusion of any witness on account of color; 
and they may summon before them the persons making claim to 
service or labor, and examine them under oath ; and they may 
also, for purposes of identification and appraisement, call before 
them the persons so claimed. . . . [Commissioners to appoint a 
clerk. The Marshal of the District of Columbia to attend and 
execute process.] 

Sec. 6. [Compensation of commissioners, expenses, etc.] 



38 SLAVERY IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA [April i6 

Sec. 7. [Appropriation of ^1,000,000 to carry the act into 
effect.] 

Sec. 8. And be it further eiiacted, That any person or persons 
who shall kidnap, or in any manner transport or procure to be 
taken out of said District, any person or persons discharged and 
freed by the provisions of this act, or any free person or persons 
with intent to re-enslave or sell such person or persons into slavery, 
or shall re-enslave any of said freed persons, the person or persons 
so offending shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and on conviction 
thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction in said District, shall 
be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than five nor more than 
twenty years. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That within twenty days, or 
within such further time as the commissioners herein provided for 
shall limit, after the passage of this act, a statement in writing or 
schedule shall be filed with the clerk of the Circuit Court for the 
District of Columbia, by the several owners or claimants to the 
services of the persons made free or manumitted by this act, setting 
forth the names, ages, sex, and particular description of such per- 
sons, severally ; and the said clerk shall receive and record, in a 
book by him to be provided and kept for that purpose, the said 
statements or schedules on receiving fifty cents each therefor, and 
no claim shall be allowed to any claimant or owner who shall 
neglect this requirement. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said clerk and his 
successors in office shall, from time to time, on demand, and on 
receiving twenty-five cents therefor, prepare, sign, and deliver to 
each person made free or manumitted by this act, a certificate 
under the seal of said court, setting out the name, age, and de- 
scription of such person, and stating that such person was duly 
manumitted and set free by this act. 

Sec. 1 1 . A7id be it further enacted, That the sum of one hun- 
dred thousand dollars, out of any money in the Treasury not other- 
wise appropriated, is hereby appropriated, to be expended under 
the direction of the President of the United States, to aid in the 
colonization and settlement of such free persons of African descent 



i862] TAXES IN INSURRECTIONARY STATES 39 

now residing in said District, including those to be liberated by 
this act, as may desire to emigrate to the Republics of Hayti or 
Liberia, or such other country beyond the limits of the United 
States as the President may determine : Provided, The expenditure 
for this purpose shall not exceed one hundred dollars for each 
emigrant. 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That all acts of Congress 
and all laws of the State of Maryland in force in said District, and 
all ordinances of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, incon- 
sistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed. 

Approved, April 16, 1862. 



No. 19. Collection of Direct Taxes in Insur- 
rectionary States 

June 7, 1862 

A BILL for the collection of direct taxes in insurrectionary States was intro- 
duced in the Senate, April 29, 1862, by James R. Doolittle of Wisconsin, and 
passed with amendments, May 12, by a vote of 32 to 3. The House added 
numerous amendments, mainly verbal, and passed the bill May 28, by a vote 
of 98 to 17. June 2 the Senate agreed, with an amendment, to the bill as 
passed by the House. The House concurred in the action of the Senate, and 
on the 7th the act was approved. A proclamation under section two of the 
act was issued July i. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 422-426. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. On the collection of direct taxes in the South see House Exec. 
Doc. 133, 39th Cong., 1st Sess.; House Report go8, 45th Cong., 2d Sess.; 
House Report 168, 46th Cong., 2d Sess.; acts of May 9 and June 8, 1872. 

An Act for the Collection of direct Taxes in Itisurrectionary Dis- 
tricts within the United States, and for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That when in any State or Territory, or 
in any portion of any State or Territory, by reason of insurrection 
or rebellion, the civil authority of the Government of the United 
States is obstructed so that the provisions of the act entitled " An 



40 TAXES IN INSURRECTIONARY STATES [June 7 

Act to provide increased revenue from imports, to pay interest on the 
public debt, and for other purposes," approved August fifth, eigh- 
teen hundred and sixty-one, for assessing, levying, and collecting 
the direct taxes therein mentioned, cannot be peaceably executed, 
the said direct taxes, by said act apportioned among the several 
States and Territories, respectively, shall be apportioned and 
charged in each State and Territory, or part thereof, wherein the 
civil authority is thus obstructed, upon all the lands and lots of 
ground situate therein, respectively, except such as are exempt 
from taxation by the laws of said State or of the United States, as 
the said lands or lots of ground were enumerated and valued 
under the last assessment and valuation thereof made under the 
authority of said State or Territory previous to the first day of 
January, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-one ; and each 
and every parcel of the said lands, according to said valuation, is 
hereby declared to be, by virtue of this act, charged with the pay- 
ment of so much of the whole tax laid and apportioned by said 
act upon the State or Territory wherein the same is respectively 
situate, as shall bear the same direct proportion to the whole 
amount of the direct tax apportioned to said State or Territory as 
the value of said parcels of land shall respectively bear to the 
whole valuation of the real estate in said State or Territory accord- 
ing to the said assessment and valuation made under the author- 
ity of the same ; and in addition thereto a penalty of fifty per 
centum of said tax shall be charged thereon. 

Sec. 2. And be it furthe)' enacted, That on or before the first 
day of July next, the President, by his proclamation, shall declare 
in what States and parts of States said insurrection exists, and 
thereupon the said several lots or parcels of land shall become 
charged respectively with their respective portions of said direct 
tax, and the same together with the penalty shall be a hen thereon, 
without any other or further proceeding whatever. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the 
owner or owners of said lots or parcels of lands, within sixty days 
after the tax commissioners herein named shall have fixed the 
amount, to pay the tax thus charged upon the same, respectively. 



i862] TAXES IN INSURRECTIONARY STATES 4 1 

into the treasury of the United States, or to the commissioners 
herein appointed, and take a certificate thereof, by virtue whereof 
the said lands shall be discharged from said tax. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the title of, in, and to 
each and every piece or parcel of land upon which said tax has 
not been paid as above provided, shall thereupon become for- 
feited to the United States, and, upon the sale hereinafter provided 
for, shall vest in the United States or in the purchasers at such 
sale, in fee simple, free and discharged from all prior liens, in- 
cumbrances, right, title, and claim whatsoever. 

[Sections 5-8 provide for the appointment of tax commissioners 
for each State, the sale of land for taxes, etc.^] 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That in cases where the owners 
of said lots and parcels of ground have abandoned the same, and 
have not paid the tax thereon as provided for in the third section 
of this act, nor paid the same, nor redeemed the said land from 
sale as provided for in the seventh section of this act, and the said 
board of commissioners shall be satisfied that said owners have 
left the same to join the rebel forces or otherwise to engage in 
and abet this rebellion, and the same shall have been struck off 
to the United States at said sale, the said commissioners shall, in 
the name of the United States, enter upon and take possession 
of the same, and may lease the same, together or in parcels, 
to any person or persons who are citizens of the United 
States, or may have declared on oath their intention to become 
such, until the said rebellion and insurrection in said State shall 
be put down, and the civil authority of the United States estab- 
lished, and until the people of said State shall elect a Legislature 
and State officers, who shall take an oath to support the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, to be announced by the proclamation 
of the President, and until the first day of March next thereafter, 
said leases to be in such form and with such security as shall, in 
the judgment of said Commissioners, produce to the United States 
the greatest revenue. 

1 Section 7, relating to sales, was amended by acts of February 6, 1863, and 
March 3, 1865. 



42 ABOLITION OF SLAVERY [June 19 

Sec. 10. And be itfuj-ther e?iacted, That the said commissioners 
shall from time to time make such temporary rules and regula- 
tions, and insert such clauses in said leases as shall be just and 
proper to secure proper and reasonable employment and support, 
at wages or upon shares of the crop, of such persons and families 
as may be residing upon the said parcels or lots of land, which 
said rules and regulations are declared to be subject to the 
approval of the President. 

Sec. II. [Commissioners may sell instead of leasing.] 
Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the proceeds of said 
leases and sales shall be paid into the Treasury of the United 
States, one fourth of which shall be paid over to the Governor of 
said State wherein said lands are situated, or his authorized agent, 
when such insurrection shall be put down, and the people shall 
elect a Legislature and State officers who shall take an oath to 
support the Constitution of the United States, and such fact shall 
be proclaimed by the President for the purpose of reimbursing 
the loyal citizens of said State, or such other purpose as said State 
may direct ; and one fourth shall also be paid over to said State 
as a fund to aid in the colonization or emigration from said 
State of any free person of African descent who may desire to 
remove therefrom to Hayti, Liberia, or any other tropical state 
or colony. 

[Sections 13-15 contain minor administrative provisions.] 
Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect 
from and after its passage. 
Approved, June 7, 1862. 



No, 20. Abolition of Slavery in the Territories 

June 19, 1862 

March 24, 1862, Isaac N. Arnold of Illinois introduced in the House a bill 
" to render freedom national and slavery sectional." Another bill with a simi- 
lar title was introduced May i by Owen Lovejoy of Illinois. The latter bill, 
with amended title, was reported May 8 as a substitute for the Arnold bill, and 



1862] ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT 43 

on the I2th passed the House by a vote of 85 to 50. The Senate, June 9, 
amended the House bill by substituting the text of the act as passed, the vote 
being 28 to lo. On the 17th the House concurred in the Senate amendment, 
and on the 19th the act was approved. The prohibition of the act was in- 
corporated in the later acts organizing the Territories of Arizona and Idaho. 
References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XH, 432. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the Cong. 
Globe. 

An Act to secure Freedofn to all Persons within the Territories 
of the United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That from and after the passage of this 
act there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of 
the Territories of the United States now existing, or which may at 
any time hereafter be formed or acquired by the United States, 
otherwise than in punishment of crimes whereof the party shall 
have been duly convicted. 

Approved, June 19, 1862. 



No. 21. Anti-Polygamy Act 

July I, 1862 

A BILL to prevent and punish polygamy in the Territories, and annulling 
certain acts of the legislative assembly of Utah, was introduced in the House 
by unanimous consent, April 8, 1862, by Morrill of Vermont. The bill was 
said to be identical with a bill relating to the same subject which had passed 
the House April 5, i860, save that the earlier bill did not include the District 
of Columbia. The bill passed the House April 28. The Senate Committee 
on Judiciary, alleging that the bill went farther than the punishment of polyg- 
amy, reported a substitute, which was agreed to June 3 by a vote of 37 to 2. 
On the 24th the House concurred in the Senate amendment, and July i the 
act was approved. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XH, 501, 502. For the 
proceedings see the Hotise atid Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. There was no important debate in the House. On the bill of 
April 5, i860, see LLouse Report 8j, 36th Cong., ist Sess.; see also LLouse 
Licport 27, 39th Cong., 2d Sess. On this and later acts see Linn, Story of the 
ALormons, chap. 24. On the scope of the act see Reynolds v. United States, 
98 U.S. Reports, 145; Miles \, United States, 103 ibid., 304. 



44 ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT [July i 

An Ad to punish and prevent the Practice of Polygainy ifi the 
Territories of the United States a?id other Places, and disapprov- 
ifig and annulling certain Acts of the Legislative Assembly of 
the Territory of Utah. 

Be it enacted . . ., That every person having a husband or 
wife living, who shall marry any other person, whether married 
or single, in a Territory of the United States, or other place over 
which the United States have exclusive jurisdiction, shall, except 
in the cases specified in the proviso to this section, be adjudged 
guilty of bigamy, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished 
by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, and by imprisonment 
for a term not exceeding five years : [certain cases excepted]. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the following ordinance 
of the provisional government of the State of Deseret, so called, 
namely : " An ordinance incorporating the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter Day Saints," passed February eight, in the year eighteen 
hundred and fifty-one, and adopted, reenacted, and made valid 
by the governor and legislative assembly of the Territory of Utah 
by an act passed January nineteen, in the year eighteen hundred 
and fifty-five, entitled " An act in relation to the compilation and 
revision of the laws and resolutions in force in Utah Territory, 
their publication, and distribution," and all other acts and parts of 
acts heretofore passed by the said legislative assembly of the Terri- 
tory of Utah, which estabhsh, support, maintain, shield, or coun- 
tenance polygamy, be, and the same hereby are, disapproved and 
annulled : Provided, That this act shall be so limited and construed 
as not to affect or interfere with the right of property legally 
acquired under the ordinance heretofore mentioned, nor with the 
right " to worship God according to the dictates of conscience," 
but only to annul all acts and laws which establish, maintain, pro- 
tect, or countenance the practice of polygamy, evasively called 
spiritual marriage, however disguised by legal or ecclesiastical 
solemnities, sacraments, ceremonies, consecrations, or other con- 
trivances. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That it shall not be lawful for 



i862] OATH OF OFFICE 45 

any corporation or association for religious or charitable purposes 
to acquire or hold real estate in any Territory of the United States 
during the existence of the territorial government of a greater 
value than fifty thousand dollars ; and all real estate acquired or 
held by any such corporation or association contrary to the pro- 
visions of this act shall be forfeited and escheat to the United 
States : Provided, That existing vested rights in real estate shall not 
be impaired by the provisions of this section. 
Approved, July i, 1S62. 



No. 22. Oath of Office 

July 2, 1862 

By an act of August 6, 1861, all members of the civil departments of the 
government were required to take an oath of allegiance to the United States 
" against all enemies, domestic or foreign, . , . any ordinance, resolution, or 
lav*f of any State convention or legislature to the contrary notwithstanding." 
An act of May 20, 1862, required voters in Washington and Georgetown, if chal- 
lenged for disloyalty, to take a similar oath, with the addition of a clause de- 
claring that the subscriber had " always been loyal and true to the Govern- 
ment of the United States." An act of June 17 imposed upon grand and 
petit jurors in United States courts an oath declaring " that you have not, 
without duress and constraint, taken up arms, or joined any insurrection or 
rebellion against the United States ; that you have not adhered to any in- 
surrection or rebellion, giving it aid and comfort ; that you have not, directly 
or indirectly, given any assistance in money, or any other thing, to any person 
or persons whom you knew, or had good ground to believe, had joined, or 
was about to join, said insurrection and rebellion, or had resisted, or was about 
to resist, with force of arms, the execution of the laws of the United States ; 
and that you have not counselled or advised any person or persons to join any 
rebellion against, or to resist with force of arms, the laws of the United States." 
The so-called "iron-clad" oath of July 2 had its origin in a bill introduced in 
the House, March 24, by James F. Wilson of Iowa, " declaring certain per- 
sons ineligilile to office." June 4 a substitute reported by the Committee on 
Judiciary, being a modified form of an amendment previously offered by Hor- 
ace Maynard of Tennessee to a bill to free the slaves of rebels, was agreed to, 
and the bill passed, the vote being 78 to 47. The Senate, on motion of 
Garrett Davis of Kentucky, added an amendment excepting the Vice-Presi- 



46 OATH OF OFFICE [July 2 

dent and Senators and Representatives, the amended bill passing the Senate 
on the 23d by a vote of ^;i to 5. The House disagreeing, the Senate receded 
from so much of its amendment as excepted Senators and Representatives, 
and in this form the bill passed. The acts of June 17 and July 2 were repealed 
by an act of May 13, 1884. 

References. — Tex^ in [/.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 502, 503. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and 
the Cong. Globe. On the loyalty of government employees see House Report 
16, 37th Cong., 2d Sess. On the modification of the oath see House Exec. 
Doc. 81, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., House Report ji, ibid., Senate Exec. Doc. sS, 
ibid., and No. 71, post. See also Cox, Three Decades, chap. 34. 

A?i Act to prescribe an Oath of Office, and for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That hereafter every person elected or 
appointed to any office of honor or profit under the government 
of the United States, either in the civil, military or naval depart- 
ments of the public service, excepting the President of the United 
States, shall, before entering upon the duties of such office, and 
before being entided to any of the salary or other emoluments 
thereof, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation : 
" I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never volun- 
tarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a 
citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, 
counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostiUty 
thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted nor attempted 
to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any author- 
ity or pretended authority in hostility to the United States ; that 
I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended govern- 
ment, authority, power or constitution within the United States, 
hostile or inimical thereto. And I do further swear (or affirm) 
that, to the best of my knowledge and abihty, I will support and 
defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, 
foreign and domestic ; that I will bear true faith and allegiance 
to the same ; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental 
reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faith- 
fully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to 
enter, so help me God ; " which said oath, so taken and signed. 



1 862] ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES 47 

shall be preserved among the files of the court, House of Congress, 
or Department to which the said office may appertain. And any 
person who shall falsely take the said oath shall be guilty of per- 
jury, and on conviction, in addition to the penalties now prescribed 
for that offence, shall be deprived of his office and rendered in- 
capable forever after of holding any office or place under the 
United States, 

Approved, July 2, 1862. 



No. 23. Election of Representatives by Districts 

July 14, 1862 

A BILL to provide for the election of Representatives to Congress by single 
districts was introduced in the House, June 16, 1862, by Henry L. Davi^es of 
Massachusetts, with the object, it was stated, of making permanent the pro- 
visions of a temporary act of 1842. On the 24th, by a vote of 59 to 46, an 
amendment excepting California was agreed to, the legislature of California 
having adjourned without districting the State ; and by a vote of 69 to 36 the 
bill was passed. The Senate, July 12, added as an amendment the proviso 
relating to lUinois, in which the House concurred. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 572. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. 

An Act in relation to the Election of Representatives to Congress 
by single Districts. 

Be it enacted . . ., That in each State entitled in the next and 
any succeeding Congress to more than one representative, the num- 
ber to which such State is or may be hereafter entitled shall be 
elected by districts composed of contiguous territory, equal in num- 
ber to the number of representatives to which said State may be 
entitled in the Congress for which said election is held, no one dis- 
trict electing more than one representative : Provided, That the pro- 
visions of this act shall not apply to the State of California so far 
as it may affect the election of representatives to the thirty-eighth 
Congress : A^id provided, further, That in the election of repre- 



48 CONFISCATION ACT [July 17 

sentatives to the thirty-eighth Congress from the State of Illinois, 
the additional representative allowed to said State by an act en- 
titled " An act fixing the number of the House of Representatives 
from and after the third day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
three," approved March fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, 
may be elected by the State at large, and the other thirteen rep- 
resentatives to which the State is entitled by the districts as now 
prescribed by law in said State, unless the legislature of said State 
should otherwise provide before the time fixed by law for the 
election of representatives therein. 
Approved, July 14, 1862. 



No. 24. Confiscation Act 

July 17, 1862 

A BILL "to confiscate the property of rebels for the payment of the ex- 
penses of the present rebellion" was reported in the House, May 14, 1862, by 
Thomas D. Eliot of Massachusetts, from the select committee on the confisca- 
tion of rebel property, together with a bill to free the slaves of rebels. On the 
26th a substitute for the two bills, offered by Morrill of Vermont on the 20th, 
was rejected by a vote of 25 to 122, and the bill passed, the vote being 82 to 
68. The House bill was more stringent than the act finally passed, but a 
substitute agreed to by the Senate, June 28, by a vote of 28 to 13, was 
thought by the House too lenient, and by a vote of 8 to 123 the amendment 
of the Senate was disagreed to. The report of the conference committee, 
being the Senate substitute with amendments, was agreed to by the House, 
July 1 1, by a vote of 82 to 42, and by the Senate, July 12, by a vote of 28 to 13. 
President Lincoln had intended to veto the bill on the ground that under it 
offenders would be forever divested of title to their real estate, and punishment 
would thus be made to extend beyond the life of the guilty party. To obviate 
this objection, a joint resolution explanatory of the act was hurried through 
both houses July 17. Lincoln, in communicating to Congress his approval of 
the act and the resolution, transmitted also the veto message which he had 
already prepared. A proclamation under section 6 of the act was issued the 
same day that the act was approved, and December 8, 1863, a proclamation of 
amnesty [No. 35] under section 13. The latter section was repealed, with the 
purpose of restricting the pardoning power of the President, July 17, 1867. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 589-592. For the 



i862] CONFISCATION ACT 49 

proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The texts of all amendments and substitutes are in the Globe. 
The debates called out numerous formal speeches. On the seizure of lands 
under the act see a report by O. O. Howard, House Exec. Doc. ig, 39th Cong., 
1st Sess.; see also Senate Exec. Doc. jS, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. On the gen- 
eral subject see Pierce, Sumner, IV, chap. 45 ; Blaine, Twenty Years of Con- 
gress, I, I'll-yi'l ; Cox, Three Decades, chap. 12 ; Dunning, Essays, 28-37. 

An Act to suppress Insurrection, to punish Treason and Rebellion, 

to seize and confiscate the Property of Rebels, and for other 

Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That every person who shall hereafter 
commit the crime of treason against the United States, and shall 
be adjudged guilty thereof, shall suffer death, and all his slaves, if 
any, shall be declared and made free ; or, at the discretion of the 
court, he shall be imprisoned for not less than five years and fined 
not less than ten thousand dollars, and all his slaves, if any, shall 
be declared and made free ; said fine shall be levied and collected 
on any or all of the property, real and personal, excluding slaves, of 
which the said person so convicted was the owner at the time of 
committing the said crime, any sale or conveyance to the contrary 
notwithstanding. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall 
hereafter incite, set on foot, assist, or engage in any rebellion or 
insurrection against the authority of the United States, or the laws 
thereof, or shall give aid or comfort thereto, or shall engage in, or 
give aid and comfort to, any such existing rebellion or insurrection, 
and be convicted thereof, such person shall be punished by im- 
prisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or by a fine not 
exceeding ten thousand dollars, and by the liberation of all his 
slaves, if any he have ; or by both of said punishments, at the 
discretion of the court. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That every person guilty of 
either of the offences described in this act shall be forever incapable 
and disqualified to hold any office under the United States. 

Sec. 4. Aiid be it further enacted. That this act shall not be 
construed in any way to affect or alter the prosecution, conviction, 

E 



50 CONFISCATION ACT [July 17 

or punishment of any person or persons guilty of treason against 
the United States before the passage of this act, unless such person 
is convicted under this act. 

Sec. 5. A?id be it further enacted, That, to insure the speedy 
termination of the present rebellion, it shall be the duty of the 
President of the United States to cause the seizure of all the estate 
and property, money, stocks, credits, and effects of the persons 
hereinafter named in this section, and to apply and use the same 
and the proceeds thereof for the support of the army of the United 
States, that is to say : 

First. Of any person hereafter acting as an officer of the army 
or navy of the rebels in arms against the government of the United 
States, 

Secondly. Of any person hereafter acting as President, Vice- 
President, member of Congress, judge of any court, cabinet officer, 
foreign minister, commissioner or consul of the so-called confeder- 
ate states of America. 

Thirdly. Of any person acting as governor of a state, member 
of a convention or legislature, or judge of any court of any of the 
so-called confederate states of America.^ 

Fourthly. Of any person who, having held an office of honor, 
trust, or profit in the United States, shall hereafter hold an office 
in the so-called confederate states of America. 

Fifthly. Of any person hereafter holding any office or agency 
under the government of the so-called confederate states of Amer- 
ica, or under any of the several states of the said confederacy, or 
the laws thereof, whether such office or agency be national, state, 
or municipal in its name or character : Provided, That the persons, 
thirdly, fourthly, and fifthly above described shall have accepted 

1 By a joint resolution of July 17 it was provided " that the provisions of the third 
clause of the fifth section of 'An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason 
and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes,' 
shall be so construed as not to apply to any act or acts done prior to the passage 
thereof ; nor to include any member of a State legislature, or judge of any State 
court, who has not in accepting or entering upon his office, taken an oath to sup- 
port the constitution of the so-called 'Confederate States of America"; nor shall 
any punishment or proceedings under said act be so construed as to work a forfei- 
ture of the real estate of the offender beyond his natural life," 



i862] CONFISCATION ACT 5 1 

their appointment or election since the date of the pretended 
ordinance of resession of the state, or shall have taken an oath 
of allegiance to, or to support the constitution of the so-called 
confederate states. 

Sixthly, Of any person who, owning property in any loyal State 
or Territory of the United States, or in the District of Columbia, 
shall hereafter assist and give aid and comfort to such rebellion ; 
and all sales, transfers, or conveyances of any such property shall 
be null and void ; and it shall be a sufficient bar to any suit 
brought by such person for the possession or the use of such prop- 
erty, or any of it, to allege and prove that he is one of the persons 
described in this section. 

Sec. 6. Afid be it further enacted, That if any person within any 
State or Territory of the United States, other than those named as 
aforesaid, after the passage of this act, being engaged in armed 
rebellion against the government of the United States, or aiding 
or abetting such rebellion, shall not, within sixty days after public 
warning and proclamation duly given and made by the President 
of the United States, cease to aid, countenance, and abet such 
rebellion, and return to his allegiance to the United States, all the 
estate and property, moneys, stocks, and credits of such person 
shall be liable to seizure as aforesaid, and it shall be the duty of 
the President to seize and use them as aforesaid or the proceeds 
thereof. And all sales, transfers, or conveyances, of any such 
property after the expiration of the said sixty days from the date 
of such warning and proclamation shall be null and void ; and it 
shall be a sufficient bar to any suit brought by such person for the 
possession or the use of such property, or any of it, to allege and 
prove that he is one of the persons described in this section. 

Sec. 7. [Proceedings to secure condemnation, &:c., of such 
property.] 

Sec. 8. [Powers of courts in such cases.] 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of persons 
who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the govern- 
ment of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid or 
comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge 



52 CONFISCATION ACT [July 17 

within the lines of the army ; and all slaves captured from such 
persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the 
government of the United States ; and all slaves of such persons 
found on [or] being within any place occupied by rebel forces and 
afterwards occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be 
deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servi- 
tude, and not again held as slaves. 

Sec. 10. Atid be it further enacted, That no slave escaping into 
any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other 
State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of 
his liberty, except for crime, or some offence against the laws, 
unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that 
the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged 
to be due is his lawful owner, and has not borne arms against the 
United States in the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid 
and comfort thereto ; and no person engaged in the military or 
naval service of the United States shall, under any pretence what- 
ever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person 
to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any 
such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the 
service. 

Sec. II. And be it further enacted, That the President of the 
United States is authorized to employ as many persons of African 
descent as he may deem necessary and proper for the suppression 
of this rebellion, and for this purpose he may organize and use 
them in such manner as he may judge best for the public welfare. 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the President of the 
United States is hereby authorized to make provision for the trans- 
portation, colonization, and settlement, in some tropical country 
beyond the limits of the United States, of such persons of the 
African race, made free by the provisions of this act, as may be 
willing to emigrate, having first obtained the consent of the govern- 
ment of said country to their protection and settlement within the 
same, with all the rights and privileges of freemen. 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted. That the President is hereby 
authorized, at any time hereafter, by proclamation, to extend to 



i862] PAYMENTS IN STAMPS 53 

persons who may have participated in the existing rebellion in any 
State or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions 
and at such time and on such conditions as he may deem expedi- 
ent for the public welfare. 

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That the courts of the United 
States shall have full power to institute proceedings, make orders 
and decrees, issue process, and do all other things necessary to 
carry this act into effect. 

Approved, July 17, 1862. 



No. 25. Act to authorize Payments in Stamps 

July 17, 1862 

In a letter of July 14, 1862, to Thaddeus Stevens, Secretary Chase stated 
that the depreciation of the currency had led to the issue of coins, checks, and 
tokens, of denominations less than one dollar, by hotels and business houses. 
A draft of a bill to prohibit such issues and allow the use of stamps as currency 
was submitted. A bill to carry the recommendation into effect was introduced 
in the House, July 17, by Samuel Hooper of Massachusetts, and passed by a 
vote of 62 to 40. The Senate passed the bill the same day without a division. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 592. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The Senate proceedings were unimportant. 

An Act to autJwrize Payments in Stamps, and to proJiihit Circula- 
tion of Notes of less Deno?nination than One Dollar. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, 
and he is hereby directed to furnish to the Assistant Treasurers, 
and such designated depositaries of the United States as may 
be by him selected, in such sums as he may deem expedient, 
the postage and other stamps of the United States, to be ex- 
changed by them, on application, for United States notes ; and 
from and after the first day of August next such stamps shall be 
receivable in payment of all dues to the United States less than 
five dollars, and shall be received in exchange for United States 
notes when presented to any Assistant Treasurer or any desig- 



54 MILITIA ACT [July 17 

nated depositary selected as aforesaid in sums not less than five 
dollars. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That from and after the 
first day of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, no private 
corporation, banking association, firm, or individual shall make, 
issue, circulate, or pay any note, check, memorandum, token, or 
other obligation, for a less sum than one dollar, intended to cir- 
culate as money or to be received or used in lieu of lawful money 
of the United States ; and every person so offending shall, on 
conviction thereof in any district or circuit court of the United 
States, be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, 
or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both, at the 
option of the court. 

Approved, July 17, 1862. 



No. 26. Militia Act 

July 17, 1862 

A BILL to amend the laws relating to the militia was introduced in the 
Senate, July 14, 1862, by Wilson of Massachusetts, from the Committee on 
Mihtary Affairs and Militia, and passed the next day by a vote of 28 to 9. In 
the House, July 16, a motion to lay the bill on the table was rejected, the vote 
being 30 to 77, and the bill passed without a division. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 597-600. For the 
proceedings see the Hotise and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. On the use of negroes as soldiers see Rhodes, United States, 
IV, Z?,2>-ZZ(>- 

An Act to amend the Act calling forth the Militia to execute the 
Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrectio?ts, and repel Invasions, 
approved February twenty-eight, seventeen hundred and ninety- 
five, and the Acts amendatory thereof, afid for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That whenever the President of the United 
States shall call forth the militia of the States, to be employed 
in the service of the United States, he may specify in his call 
the period for which such service will be required, not exceed- 



i862] MILITIA ACT 55 

ing nine months ; and the militia so called shall be mustered in 
and continue to serve for and during the term so specified, un- 
less sooner discharged by command of the President. If by- 
reason of defects in existing laws, or in the execution of them, 
in the several States, or any of them, it shall be found neces- 
sary to provide for enrolling the militia and otherwise putting 
this act into execution, the President is authorized in such cases 
to make all necessary rules and regulations ; and the enrolment 
of the militia shall in all cases include all able-bodied male citi- 
zens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, and shall 
be apportioned among the States according to representative 
population. 

Sec. 2. Afid be it further enacted, That the militia, when so 
called into service, shall be organized in the mode prescribed 
by law for volunteers. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President be, and 
he is hereby, authorized, in addition to the volunteer forces 
which he is now authorized by law to raise, to accept the ser- 
vices of any number of volunteers, not exceeding one hundred 
thousand, as infantry, for a period of nine months, unless sooner 
discharged. And every soldier who shall enlist under the pro- 
visions of this section shall receive his first month's pay, and 
also twenty-five dollars as bounty, upon the mustering of his 
company or regiment into the service of the United States. . . . 

Sec. 4. Atid be it further enacted, That, for the purpose of 
filling up the regiments of infantry now in the United States 
service, the President be, and he hereby is, authorized to accept 
the services of volunteers in such numbers as may be presented 
for that purpose, for twelve months, if not sooner discharged. 
And such volunteers, when mustered into the service, shall be 
in all respects upon a footing with similar troops in the United 
States service, except as to service bounty, which shall be fifty 
dollars, one half of which to be paid upon their joining their 
regiments, and the other half at the expiration of their enlist- 



56 ADMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA [Dec. 31 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the President be, 
and he is hereby, authorized to receive into the service of the 
United States, for the purpose of constructing intrenchments, or 
performing camp service, or any other labor, or any mihtar)- or 
naval service for which they may be found competent, persons 
of African descent, and such persons shall be enrolled and 
organized under such regulations, not inconsistent with the 
Constitution and laws, as the President may prescribe. 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That when any man or boy 
of African descent, who by the laws of any State shall owe ser- 
vice or labor to any person who, during the present rebellion, 
has levied war or has borne arms against the United States, or 
adhered to their enemies by giving them aid and comfort, shall 
render any such service as is pronded for in this act, he, his 
mother and his wife and children, shall forever thereafter be 
free, any law, usage, or custom whatsoever to the contrar}- not- 
withstanding : Frofided, That the mother, wife and children of 
such man or boy of African descent shall not be made free by 
the operation of this act except where such mother, wife or chil- 
dren owe service or labor to some person who, during the pres- 
ent rebellion, has borne arms against the United States or 
adhered to their enemies by gi\*ing them aid and comfort. 
****** * 

Approved, July 17, 1862. 

[The omitted sections deal with details of organization, trial 
by court-martial, &c.] 

♦ 

No. 27. Act admitting West Virginia 

December 31, 1862 

A MEMORLAX from the commissioners of West Virginia, setting forth the his- 
tory of the formation of the State and pra\-ing for admission to the Union, 
was presented in the Senate May 31, 1S62, and referred to the Committee on the 
Territories, who reported, June 23, a bill for the admission of West Virginia as 
a State. July 14, by a vote of 1 1 to 24, an amendment oSered by Sumner, 
prohibiting slavery in the State, was rejected, and the bill, with further amend- 



iS62] ADMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA 57 

ments, passed, the vote being 23 to 17. On the i6th, in the House, further 
consideration of the bill was postponed until December. December 10 the 
bill was taken up, read three times, and, by a vote of 96 to 57, passed. The 
bill was not presented to the President until the 22d. The proclamation 
announcing the compliance of West Virginia with the conditions of the act 
was issued April 20, 1S63. 

Referenxes. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 633, 634. For the 
proceedings see the Home and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 3d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The memorial of the commissioners is Senate Misc. Doc. 99, 
37th Cong., 2d Sess. See Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, VI, chap. 14. 

An Act for the Admission of the State of " IVest Virginia " i?ito the 
Union, and for other Purposes. 

Whereas the people inhabiting that portion of Virginia known 
as West Virginia did, by a Convention assembled in the city of 
\Mieeling on the twent}'-sixth of November, eighteen hundred 
and sixty -one, frame for themselves a Constitution with a view 
of becoming a separate and independent State ; and whereas at 
a general election held in the counties composing the territory 
aforesaid on the third day of May last, the said Constitution 
was approved and adopted by the qualified voters of the pro- 
posed State ; and whereas the Legislature of Virginia, by an act 
passed on the thirteenth day of May, eighteen hundred and 
sixt}--two, did give its consent to the formation of a new State 
within the jurisdiction of the said State of Virginia, to be known 
by the name of West Virginia, and to embrace the following 
named counties, to wit: Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, 
Wetzel, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, Tyler, Pleasants, 
Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, 
Calhoun, Gilmer, Barbour, Tucker, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur, 
Randolph, Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas, Cabell, 
Wayne, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, Mercer, McDowell, Webster, 
Pocahontas, Fayette, Raleigh, Greenbrier, Monroe, Pendleton, 
Hardy, Hampshire, and Morgan ; and whereas both the Con- 
vention and the Legislature aforesaid have requested that the 
new State should be admitted into the Union, and the Constitu- 
tion aforesaid being republican in form, Congress doth hereby 



58 ADMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA [Dec. 31 

consent that the said forty-eight counties may be formed into a 
separate and independent State. Therefore — 

Be it etiacted . . ., That the State of West Virginia be, and is 
hereby, declared to be one of the United States of America, and 
admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original 
States in all respects whatever, and until the next general cen- 
sus shall be entitled to three members in the House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States : Provided^ ahuays, That this 
act shall not take effect until after the proclamation of the Presi- 
dent of the United States hereinafter provided for. 

It being represented to Congress that since the Convention 
of the twenty-sixth of November, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
one, that framed and proposed the Constitution for the said 
State of West Virginia, the people thereof have expressed a 
wish to change the seventh section of the eleventh article of 
said Constitution by striking out the same and inserting the fol- 
lowing in its place, viz. : " The children of slaves born within 
the limits of this State after the fourth day of July, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-three, shall be free ; and that all slaves 
within the said State who shall, at the time aforesaid, be under 
the age of ten years, shall be free when they arrive at the age 
of twenty-one years ; and all slaves over ten and under twenty- 
one years shall be free when they arrive at the age of twenty- 
five years ; and no slave shall be permitted to come into the 
State for permanent residence therein : " Therefore — 

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That whenever the people of 
West Virginia shall, through their said Convention, and by a 
vote to be taken at an election to be held within the limits of the 
said State, at such time as the Convention may provide, make, 
and ratify the change aforesaid, and properly certify the same 
under the hand of the president of the Convention, it shall be 
lawful for the President of the United States to issue his procla- 
mation stating the fact, and thereupon this act shall take effect 
and be in force from and after sixty days from the date of said 
proclamation. 

Approved, December 31, 1862. 



iS62] EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 59 

No. 28. Emancipation Proclamation 

January i, 1863 

A DRAFT of an emancipation proclamation was read to the Cabinet by 
Lincoln, July 22, 1862, but at Seward's suggestion the paper was laid aside 
until an important Union victory should have been won. The desired victory 
came at Antietam, September 16-17. A. preliminary proclamation was issued 
September 22, and the definitive one January i, 1863. December 15, in the 
House, a resolution declaring that the proclamation of September 22 "is 
warranted by the Constitution," and that the policy of emancipation " was 
well chosen as a war measure, and is an exercise of power with proper regard 
for the rights of the States and the perpetuity of free government," was 
adopted by a vote of 78 to 51. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 1268, 1269. Various 
resolutions submitted in the House and Senate are collected in McPherson, 
Kehellion, 209-233; on Fremont's proclamation of August 31, 1861, see 
ibid., 245-247. On the general subject see Adams, Charles Francis Adams, 
chap. 16 ; Morse, Lincoln, II, chaps, i, 4 ; McCall, Thaddeus Stevens, chap. 
12; Storey, Sumner, chap. 12; John Sherman, Recollections, I, chap. 14; 
Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, VI, chaps. 6, 8, 9 ; Rhodes, United States, IV, 
69-72, 157-163, 212-219; Dunning, Essays, 49-56; Garrisons' Garrison, 
IV, chap. 3 ; House Exec. Doc. ys, 37th Cong., 3d Sess. 

By the President of the United States of America. 
A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a 
proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, 
containing, among other things, the following, to wit : 

" That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as 
slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people 
whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, 
shall be then, thenceforward, and forever, free ; and the Execu- 
tive Government of the United States, including the military 
and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the 



60 EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION [Jan i 

freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress 
such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for 
their actual freedom. 

" That the Executive will, on the first day of January afore- 
said, by proclamation, designate the states and parts of states, 
if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in 
rebellion against the United States ; and the fact that any state, 
or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith repre- 
sented in the Congress of the United States, by members 
chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified 
voters of such states shall have participated, shall, in the 
absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed con- 
clusive evidence that such state, and the people thereof, are 
not then in rebellion against the United States." 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the 
United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as com- 
mander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, in 
time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and Govern- 
ment of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war 
measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of 
January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, 
publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from 
the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the states 
and parts of states wherein the people thereof, respectively, are 
this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to 
wit : 

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the parishes of St. Ber- 
nard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, 
Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. 
Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans,) Missis- 
sippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, 
and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West 
Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, North- 
ampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, 
including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth,) and which 



1863] CORRESPONDENCE WITH REBELS 6 1 

excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this procla- 
mation were not issued. 

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I 
do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said 
designated states and parts of states are, and henceforward 
shall be, free ; and that the Executive Government of the 
United States, including the military and naval authorities 
thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said per- 
sons. 

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free 
to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence ; 
and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they 
labor faithfully for reasonable wages. 

And I further declare and make known that such persons, of 
suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the 
United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other 
places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. 

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, 
warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke 
the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of 
Almighty God. 



No. 29. Act to punish Correspondence with 
Rebels 

February 25, 1863 

According to Sumner, the purpose of this act was to extend the principle 
of an act of January 30, 1799, relating to treasonable correspondence with 
foreigners, to correspondence with supporters of the rebellion. The bill was 
introduced by Sumner January 7, and passed the Senate, February 13, with- 
out a division. The House passed the bill on the 21st, also without a divi- 
sion. There was no debate of importance in either house. 

Reference. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 696, 



62 WAYS AND MEANS [March 3 

An Act to prevent Correspondence with Rebels. 

Be it enacted . . . , That if any person, being a resident of the 
United States, or being a citizen thereof, and residing in any 
foreign country, shall, without the permission or authority of the 
Government of the United States, and with the intent to defeat 
the measures of the said Government, or to weaken in any way 
their efficacy, hold or commence, directly or indirectly, any cor- 
respondence or intercourse, written or verbal, with the present 
pretended rebel Government, or with any officer or agent 
thereof, or with any other individual acting or sympathizing 
therewith ; or if any such person above mentioned, not duly 
authorized, shall counsel or assist in any such correspondence 
or intercourse, with intent as aforesaid, he shall be deemed 
guilty of a high misdemeanor, and, on conviction before any 
court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be 
punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars, and by 
imprisonment not less than six months nor exceeding five years. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That where the offence is 
committed in any foreign country, the district court of the United 
States for the district where the offender shall be first arrested 
shall have jurisdiction thereof. 

Approved, February 25, 1863. 



No. 30. Act to provide Ways and Means for 
the Support of the Government 

March 3, 1863 

A BILL to provide ways and means for the support of the Government was 
reported in the House, January 8, 1863, by Thaddeus Stevens, from the Com- 
mittee of Ways and Means, taken up January 12 and debated from day to day, 
and on the 26th passed without a division. The Senate passed the bill with 
numerous amendments, February 13, by a vote of 32 to 4. Two conference 
committees were necessary to settle the form of the bill. The principal dis- 
agreement between the houses was over the taxation of bank circulation, the 
twenty-third amendment of the Senate having lowered the rate of taxation 



1863] WAYS AND MEANS 6^ 

provided by the House bill. The report of the second conference committee 
was accepted February 28. 

References. — Texi in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 709-713, For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 3d Sess.,and the 
Cong. Globe. There is a summary of the House bill in the Globe, February 
13, Senate proceedings. 

An Act to provide Ways and Means for the Support of the 
Government. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, 
and he is hereby, authorized to borrow, from time to time, on 
the credit of the United States, a sum not exceeding three hun- 
dred milHons of dollars for the current fiscal year, and six hun- 
dred millions for the next fiscal year, and to issue therefor coupon 
or registered bonds, payable at the pleasure of the Government 
after such periods as may be fixed by the Secretary, not less 
than ten nor more than forty years from date, in coin, and of 
such denominations not less than fifty dollars as he may deem 
expedient, bearing interest at a rate not exceeding six per 
centum per annum, payable on bonds not exceeding one hun- 
dred dollars, annually, and on all other bonds semi-annually, in 
coin ; and he may, in his discretion, dispose of such bonds at any 
time, upon such terms as he may deem most advisable, for law- 
ful money of the United States, or for any of the certificates of 
indebtedness or deposit that may at any time be unpaid, or for 
any of the treasury notes heretofore issued or which may be 
issued under the provisions of this act. And all the bonds and 
treasury notes or United States notes issued under the provisions 
of this act shall be exempt from taxation by or under state or 
municipal authority : Provided, That there shall be outstanding 
of bonds, treasury notes, and United States notes, at any time, 
issued under the provisions of this act, no greater amount alto- 
gether than the sum of nine hundred millions of dollars. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to issue, on the credit 
of the United States, four hundred millions of dollars in treasury 



64 WAYS AND MEANS [March 3 

notes, payable at the pleasure of the United States, or at such 
time or times not exceeding three years from date as may be 
found most beneficial to the public interest, and bearing interest 
at a rate not exceeding six per centum per annum, payable at 
periods expressed on the face of said treasury notes ; and the 
interest on the said treasury notes and on certificates of indebted- 
ness and deposit hereafter issued, shall be paid in lawful money. 
The treasury notes thus issued shall be of such denomination 
as the Secretary may direct, not less than ten dollars, and may 
be disposed of on the best terms that can be obtained, or may 
be paid to any creditor of the United States willing to receive 
the same at par. And said treasury notes may be made a legal 
tender to the same extent as United States notes, for their face 
value excluding interest ; or they may be made exchangeable 
under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
by the holder thereof at the treasury in the city of Washington, 
or at the office of any assistant treasurer or depositary designated 
for that purpose, for United States notes equal in amount to the 
treasury notes offered for exchange, together with the interest 
accrued and due thereon at the date of interest payment next 
preceding such exchange. And in lieu of any amount of said 
treasury notes thus exchanged, or redeemed or paid at maturity, 
the Secretary may issue an equal amount of other treasury 
notes ; and the treasury notes so exchanged, redeemed, or paid, 
shall be cancelled and destroyed as the Secretary may direct. 
In order to secure certain and prompt exchanges of United 
States notes for treasury notes when required as above provided, 
the Secretary shall have power to issue United States notes to 
the amount of one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, which 
may be used if necessary for such exchanges ; but no part of 
the United States notes authorized by this section shall be 
issued for or applied to any other purposes than said exchanges ; 
and whenever any amount shall have been so issued and applied, 
the same shall be replaced as soon as practicable from the sales 
of treasury notes for United States notes. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted^ That the Secretary of the 



1863] WAYS AND MEANS 65 

Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized, if required by the 
exigencies of the pubhc service, for the payment of the army 
and navy, and other creditors of the government, to issue on the 
credit of the United States the sum of one hundred and fifty 
milUons of dollars of United States notes, including the amount 
of such notes heretofore authorized by the joint resolution 
approved January seventeen, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
in such form as he may deem expedient, not bearing interest, 
payable to bearer, and of such denominations, not less than one 
dollar, as he may prescribe, which notes so issued shall be law- 
ful money and a legal tender in payment of all debts, public 
and private, within the United States, except for duties on 
imports and interest on the public debt ; and any of the said 
notes, when returned to the treasury, may be reissued from 
time to time as the exigencies of the public service may require. 
And in lieu of any of said notes, or any other United States 
notes, returned to the treasury, and cancelled or destroyed, 
there may be issued equal amounts of United States notes, 
such as are authorized by this act. . . . [So much of the 
acts of February 25 and July 11, 1862, as restricts the nego- 
tiation of bonds to market value, repealed.] . . . And the 
holders of United States notes, issued under and by virtue of 
said acts, shall present the same for the purpose of exchang- 
ing the same for bonds, as therein provided, on or before the 
first day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and there- 
after the right so to exchange the same shall cease and deter- 
mine. 

Sec. 4. And be it further etiacted, That in lieu of postage and 
revenue stamps for fractional currency, and of fractional notes, 
commonly called postage currency, issued or to be issued, the 
Secretary of the Treasury may issue fractional notes of like 
amounts in such form as he may deem expedient. . . . And all 
such notes issued shall be exchangeable by the assistant-treas- 
urers and designated depositaries for United States notes, in 
sums not less than three dollars, and shall be receivable for 
postage and revenue stamps, and also in payment of any dues 

F 



66 WAYS AND MEANS [March 3 

to the United States less than five dollars, except duties on 
imports, and shall be redeemed on presentation at the treasury 
of the United States in such sums and under such regulations 
as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe : Pi-ovided, That 
the whole amount of fractional currency issued, including post- 
age and revenue stamps issued as currency, shall not exceed 
fifty millions of dollars. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury is hereby authorized to receive deposits of gold coin 
and bullion with the treasurer or any assistant-treasurer of the 
United States, in sums not less than twenty dollars, and to issue 
certificates therefor, in denominations of not less than twenty 
dollars each, corresponding with the denominations of the 
United States notes. The coin and bullion deposited for or 
representing the certificates of deposit shall be retained in the 
treasury for the payment of the same on demand. And certifi- 
cates representing coin in the treasury may be issued in payment 
of interest on the public debt, which certificates, together with 
those issued for coin and bullion deposited, shall not at any 
time exceed twenty per centum beyond the amount of coin and 
bullion in the treasury ; and the certificates for coin or bullion 
in the treasury shall be received at par in payment for duties on 
imports. 

Sec. 6. [Secretary to determine form of bonds and notes, &c.] 
Sec. 7. A7id be it further enacted, That all banks, associations, 
corporations, or individuals, issuing notes or bills for circulation 
as currency, shall be subject to and pay a duty of one per centum 
each half year from and after April first, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three, upon the average amount of circulation of notes or 
bills as currency issued beyond the amount hereinafter named, 
that is to say: banks, associations, corporations, or individuals, 
having a capital of not over one hundred thousand dollars, 
ninety per centum thereof ; over one hundred thousand and not 
over two hundred thousand dollars, eighty per centum thereof ; 
over two hundred thousand and not over three hundred thousand 
dollars, seventy per centum thereof ; over three hundred thou- 



1863] WAYS AND MEANS 6/ 

sand and not over five hundred thousand dollars, sixty per 
centum thereof ; over five hundred thousand and not over one 
million of dollars, fifty per centum thereof ; over one million and 
not over one million and a half of dollars, forty per centum 
thereof; over one million and a half, and not over two millions 
of dollars, thirty per centum thereof ; over two millions of 
dollars, twenty-five per centum thereof. In the case of banks 
with branches, the duty herein provided for shall be imposed 
upon the circulation of the notes or bills of such branches sever- 
ally, and not upon the aggregate circulation of all ; and the 
amount of capital of each branch shall be considered to be the 
amount allotted to or used by such branch ; and all such banks, 
associations, corporations, and individuals shall also be subject 
to and pay a duty of one half of one per centum each half year 
from and after April first, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
upon the average amount of notes or bills not otherwise herein 
taxed and outstanding as currency during the six months next 
preceding the return hereinafter provided for ; and the rates of 
tax or duty imposed on the circulation of associations which 
may be organized under the act " to provide a national currency, 
secured by a pledge of United States stocks, and to provide for 
the circulation and redemption thereof," approved February 
twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, shall be the same 
as that hereby imposed on the circulation and deposits of all 
banks, associations, corporations, or individuals, but shall be 
assessed and collected as required by said act ; all banks, asso- 
ciations, or corporations, and individuals issuing or reissuing 
notes or bills for circulation as currency after April first, eigh- 
teen hundred and sixty-three, in sums representing any fractional 
part of a dollar, shall be subject to and pay a duty of five per 
centum each half year thereafter upon the amount of such frac- 
tional notes or bills so issued. And all banks, associations, 
corporations, and individuals receiving deposits of money sub- 
ject to payment on check or draft, except savings institutions, 
shall be subject to a duty of one eighth of one per centum each 
half year from and after April first, eighteen hundred and sixty- 



68 ENROLMENT ACT [March 3 

three, upon the average amount of such deposits beyond the 
average amount of their circulating notes or bills lawfully issued 
and outstanding as currency. . . } 

******* 

Approved, March 3, 1863. 



No. 31. Enrolment Act 

March 3, 1863 

August 4, 1862, Lincoln ordered a draft of 300,000 men. Four days later 
it was ordered that no citizen liable to be drafted should be allowed to go to 
a foreign country. The draft was completed early in September. A bill to 
provide for enrolling and calling out the national forces was reported in the 
Senate, February 9, 1863, by Wilson of Massachusetts, from the Committee on 
Military Affairs and Militia, to whom the subject had been referred, and on 
the 1 6th passed without a division. In the House a motion to limit the enrol- 
ment to white citizens was lost by a vote of 53 to 85; an attempt to strike 
out the $300 commutation clause also failed, the vote being 67 to 87. Febru- 
ary 25 the bill passed the House. The Senate concurred in the House amend- 
ments, and March 3 the act was approved. A proclamation under section 
twenty-six of the act was issued March 10, followed May 8 by a proclamation 
relative to the status of aliens under the act. 

References. — Texi in [7.S. StaUites at Large, XII, 731-737. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate /ojirnals, 37th Cong., 3d Sess., and the 
Co7tg. Globe. A summary of the bill as reported in the Senate is in the Globe, 
February 16. The executive orders of August 4 and 8, 1862, are in Richard- 
son, Messages and Papers of ike Presidents, VI, 120-121. On the enforce- 
ment of the act see the annual report of the Secretary of War, 1863. On 
the draft riots in New York see Rhodes, United States, IV, 320-328; see also 
Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, VII, chap. I. 

1 The Internal Revenue Act of March 3, 1865, section 6, imposed a tax of ten per 
cent on the amount of the notes of any State bank or State banking association 
paid out by them after July i, 1866. By the internal revenue act of July 13, 1866, 
this section was amended so as to include the notes of " persons " as well as of 
banks, the notes were further described as " used for circulation," and the date for 
the imposition of the tax was changed to August i, 1866. The purpose of the tax 
was not, of course, to produce revenue, but to prevent the circulation of State bank 
notes. On the constitutionality of this proliibition see Veazie Bank v. Fenno, 
8 Wallace, 533. 



1863] ENROLMENT ACT 69 

An Act for enrolling and calling out the national Forces, and for 
other Purposes. 

Whereas there now exist in the United States an insurrection 
and rebellion against the authority thereof, and it is, under 
the Constitution of the United States, the duty of the govern- 
ment to suppress insurrection and rebellion, to guarantee to 
each State a republican form of government, and to preserve 
the public tranquillity ; and whereas, for these high purposes, 
a military force is indispensable, to raise and support which 
all persons ought willingly to contribute ; and whereas no ser- 
vice can be more praiseworthy and honorable than that which 
is rendered for the maintenance of the Constitution and 
Union, and the consequent preservation of free government : 
Therefore — 

Be it enacted . . ., That all able-bodied male citizens of the 
United States, and persons of foreign birth who shall have 
declared on oath their intention to become citizens under and in 
pursuance of the laws thereof, between the ages of twenty and 
forty-five years, except as hereinafter excepted, are hereby 
declared to constitute the national forces, and shall be liable to 
perform military duty in the service of the United States when 
called out by the President for that purpose. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the following persons 
be, and they are hereby, excepted and exempt from the provi- 
sions of this act, and shall not be liable to military duty under 
the same, to wit : Such as are rejected as physically or mentally 
unfit for the service ; also, First the Vice-President of the United 
States, the judges of the various courts of the United States, the 
heads of the various executive departments of the government, 
and the governors of the several States. Second, the only son 
liable to military duty of a widow dependent upon his labor for 
support. Third, the only son of aged or infirm parent or parents 
dependent upon his labor for support. Fourth, where there are 
two or more sons of aged or infirm parents subject to draft, the 
father, or, if he be dead, the mother, may elect which son shall 



70 ENROLMENT ACT [March 3 

be exempt. Fifth, the only brother of children not twelve years 
old, having neither father nor mother dependent upon his labor 
for support. Sixth, the father of motherless children under 
twelve years of age dependent upon his labor for support. Sev- 
enth, where there are a father and sons in the same family and 
household, and two of them are in the military service of the 
United States as non-commissioned officers, musicians, or pri- 
vates, the residue of such family and household, not exceeding 
two, shall be exempt. And no persons but such as are herein 
excepted shall be exempt : Provided^ however, That no person 
who has been convicted of any felony shall be enrolled or per- 
mitted to serve in said forces. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the national forces of 
the United States not now in the military service, enrolled under 
this act, shall be divided into two classes : the first of which 
shall comprise all persons subject to do military duty between 
the ages of twenty and thirty-five years, and all unmarried per- 
sons subject to do military duty above the age of thirty-five and 
under the age of forty-five ; the second class shall comprise all 
other persons subject to do military duty, and they shall not, in 
any district, be called into the service of the United States until 
those of the first class shall have been called.* 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted. That, for greater conven- 
ience in enrolling, calling out, and organizing the national forces, 
and for the arrest of deserters and spies of the enemy, the 
United States shall be divided into districts, of which the Dis- 
trict of Columbia shall constitute one, each territory of the 
United States shall constitute one or more, as the President 
shall direct, and each congressional district of the respective 
states, as fixed by a law of the state next preceding the enrol- 
ment, shall constitute one : Provided, That in states which have 
not by their laws been divided into two or more congressional 
districts, the President of the United States shall divide the 
same into so many enrolment districts as he may deem fit and 
convenient. 

1 See act of February 24, 1864, section 11. 



1863] ENROLMENT ACT 7 1 

Sec. 5 . And be it further enacted, That for each of said dis- 
tricts there shall be appointed by the President a provost-mar- 
shal, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a captain of cavalry, 
or an officer of said rank shall be detailed by the President, who 
shall be under the direction and subject to the orders of a pro- 
vost-marshal-general, appointed or detailed by the President of 
the United States, whose office shall be at the seat of govern- 
ment, forming a separate bureau of the War Department. . . . 

[Sections 6 and 7. Duties of provost-marshal-general and pro- 
vost marshals.] 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That in each of said districts 
there shall be a board of enrolment, to be composed of the pro- 
vost-marshal, as president, and two other persons, to be ap- 
pointed by the President of the United States, one of whom 
shall be a licensed and practising physician and surgeon. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
the said board to divide the district into sub-districts of con- 
venient size, if they shall deem it necessary, not exceeding two, 
without the direction of the Secretary of War, and to appoint, 
on or before the tenth day of March next, and in each alternate 
year thereafter, an enrolling officer for each sub-district, and to 
furnish him with proper blanks and instructions ; and he shall 
immediately proceed to enrol all persons subject to military 
duty, noting their respective places of residence, ages on the 
first day of July following, and their occupation, and shall, on or 
before the first day of April, report the same to the board of 
enrolment, to be consolidated into one list, a copy of which shall 
be transmitted to the provost-marshal-general on or before the 
first day of May succeeding the enrolment : Provided, neverthe- 
less. That if from any cause the duties prescribed by this section 
cannot be performed within the time specified, then the same 
shall be performed as soon thereafter as practicable. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the enrolment of 
each class shall be made separately, and shall only embrace 
those whose ages shall be on the first day of July thereafter 
between twenty and forty-five years. 



72 ENROLMENT ACT [March 3 

Sec. II. And be it further enacted, That all persons thus en- 
rolled shall be subject, for two years after the first day of July 
succeeding the enrolment, to be called into the military service 
of the United States, and to continue in service during the 
present rebellion, not, however, exceeding the term of three 
years ; and when called into service shall be placed on the same 
footing, in all respects, as volunteers for three years, or during 
the war, including advance pay and bounty as now provided by 
law. 

Sec. 12. Atid be it further enacted, That whenever it maybe 
necessary to call out the national forces for military service, the 
President is hereby authorized to assign to each district the 
number of men to be furnished by said district ; and thereupon 
the enrolling board shall, under the direction of the President, 
make a draft of the required number, and fifty per cent, in 
addition. . . . 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That any person drafted 
and notified to appear as aforesaid, may, on or before the day 
fixed for his appearance, furnish an acceptable substitute to 
take his place in the draft ; or he may pay to such person as the 
Secretary of War may authorize to receive it, such sum, not ex- 
ceeding three hundred dollars, as the Secretary may determine, 
for the procuration of each substitute ; which sum shall be fixed 
at a uniform rate by a general order made at the time of order- 
ing a draft for any state or territory ; and thereupon such per- 
son so furnishing the substitute, or paying the money, shall 
be discharged from further liability under that draft. And any 
person failing to report after due service of notice, as herein 
prescribed, without furnishing a substitute, or paying the 
required sum therefor, shall be deemed a deserter, and shall be 
arrested by the provost-marshal and sent to the nearest military 
post for trial by court-martial, unless, upon proper showing 
that he is not liable to do military duty, the board of enrolment 
shall relieve him from the draft. 

[Sections 14 and 15. Medical inspection of persons drafted.] 

Sec. 16. [Those drafted and not wanted, to be discharged.] 



iS63] ENROLMENT ACT 'J^ 

Sec. 17. And be it furthe}- enacted, That any person enrolled 
and drafted according to the provisions of this act who shall fur- 
nish an acceptable substitute, shall thereupon receive from the 
board of enrolment a certificate of discharge from such draft, 
which shall exempt him from military duty during the time for 
which he was drafted ; and such substitute shall be entitled to 
the same pay and allowances provided by law as if he had been 
originally drafted into the service of the United States. 

Sec. 18. And he it further enacted, That such of the volun- 
teers and militia now in the service of the United States as may 
reenlist to serve one year, unless sooner discharged, after the 
expiration of their present term of service, shall be entitled to a 
bounty of fifty dollars, one half of which to be paid upon such 
reenlistment, and the balance at the expiration of the term of re- 
enlistment ; and such as may reenlist to serve for two years, 
unless sooner discharged, after the expiration of their present 
term of enlistment, shall receive, upon such reenlistment, twenty- 
five dollars of the one hundred dollars bounty for enlistment pro- 
vided by the fifth section of the act . . . [of July 22, 1861, chap. 9] . . . 

[Sections 19 and 20. When companies may be consolidated, 
&c.] 

[Sections 21 and 22. Courts-martial.] 

Sec. 23. [Clothes, arms, &c., not to be sold or loaned.] 

Sec. 24. [Penalty for inducing desertion, purchasing arms, 
&c.] 

Sec. 25. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall 
resist any draft of men enrolled under this act into the service 
of the United States, or shall counsel or aid any person to re- 
sist any such draft ; or shall assault or obstruct any officer in 
making such draft, or in the performance of any service in rela- 
tion thereto ; or shall counsel any person to assault or obstruct 
any such officer, or shall counsel any drafted men not to appear 
at the place of rendezvous, or wilfully dissuade them from the 
performance of military duty as required by law, such person 
shall be subject to summary arrest by the provost-marshal, and 
shall be forthwith delivered to the civil authorities, and, upon 



74 ENROLMENT ACT [March 3 

conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding five 
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding two years, or 
by both of said punishments. 

Sec. 26, [President to issue proclamation to soldiers absent, 
to return, &c.] 

[Sections 27-29 prescribe administrative details.] 

Sec. 30. And be it further enacted^ That in time of war, insur- 
rection, or rebellion, murder, assault and battery with an intent 
to kill, manslaughter, mayhem, wounding by shooting or stabbing 
with an intent to commit murder, robbery, arson, burglary, rape, 
assault and battery with an intent to commit rape, and larceny, 
shall be punishable by the sentence of a general court-martial or 
military commission, when committed by persons who are in the 
military service of the United States, and subject to the articles 
of war ; and the punishments for such offences shall never be 
less than those inflicted by the laws of the state, territory, or 
district in which they may have been committed. 

[Sections 31 and 32. Pay, furloughs, &c.] 

Sec. 33. Ajid be it further enacted, That the President of the 
United States is hereby authorized and empowered, during the 
present rebellion, to call forth the national forces, by draft, in 
the manner provided for in this act. 

Sec. 34. And be it further enacted, That all persons drafted 
under the provisions of this act shall be assigned by the Presi- 
dent to military duty in such corps, regiments, or other branches 
of the service as the exigencies of the service may require. 

[Sections 35-37. Special service, enlistments from volunteers 
to regular service, cavalry, &c.] 

Sec. 38. And be it further enacted, That all persons who, in 
time of war or of rebellion against the supreme authority of the 
United States, shall be found lurking or acting as spies, in or 
about any of the fortifications, posts, quarters, or encampments 
of any of the armies of the United States, or elsewhere, shall be 
triable by a general court-martial or military commission, and 
shall, upon conviction, suffer death. 

Approved, March 3, 1863. 



i863] HABEAS CORPUS 75 

No. 32. Act relating to Habeas Corpus 

March 3, 1863 

April 27, 1S61, Lincoln by executive order authorized General Scott, in 
his discretion, to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus on any 
military line between Philadelphia and Washington. July 2 this authorization 
was extended to the military hne between New York and Washington. A 
proclamation of May lo authorized suspension in the islands of Key West, the 
Tortugas, and Santa Rosa. Doubt as to the legality of these executive orders, 
however, reenforced by public criticism of the numerous arrests of civilians in 
pursuance of them, led to the issue, February 14, 1862, of an order directing 
the release of political prisoners held in military custody, " on their subscrib- 
ing to a parole engaging them to render no aid or comfort to the enemies in 
hostility to the United States"; but a proclamation of September 24 declared 
all disloyal persons subject to martial law, and suspended the privilege of the 
writ as to such persons. An act of August 6, 1861, had in the meantime 
validated all the acts, proclamations, and orders of the President, relating to 
military affairs, issued since the 4th of March preceding. A bill " to indem- 
nify the President and other persons for suspending the privilege of the writ 
of habeas corpus, and acts done in pursuance thereof," was introduced in the 
House, December 8, 1862, by Thaddeus Stevens, and passed the same day, 
notwithstanding strong opposition, by a vote of 91 to 46. On the 22d a pro- 
test against the bill, signed by thirty-six members of the House, was, by a 
vote of 75 to 40, refused entry on the journal. The bill was reported with 
amendments in the Senate January 15, 1863, and passed that body on the 
27th, after long discussion, by a vote of 33 to 7. The House, by a vote of 35 
to 114, refused to agree to the Senate amendments, and the bill received its 
final form from a conference committee, the Senate receding from its amend- 
ments and accepting a modified form of the House bill. A proclamation of 
September 15, under the act, declared a general suspension of the privilege 
of the writ throughout the United States ; this was revoked as to the loyal 
States December i, 1865. An amendatory act was passed May 11, 1866. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XH, 755-758. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 3d Sess., and 
the Cong. Globe. The Pendleton protest is in the Globe, December 22 ; 
the Senate amendments, ibid., February 19, House proceedings. Numerous 
orders, reports, letters, etc., are collected in McPherson, Rebellion, 152-194; 
see also House Exec. Doc. 6, 37th Cong., ist Sess., and Senate Exec. Doc. 11, 
37th Cong., 3d Sess. For Taney's opinion, 1861, against the right of the 
President to suspend, see Ex parte Merryman, Taney's Reports, 246 ; cf. 
Tyler, Taney, chap. 6. The opinion of Bates affirming the right is in House 



76 HABEAS CORPUS [March 3 

Exec. Doc. 5, 37th Cong., ist Sess. Cf. Ex parte Milligan (1866), 4 Wallace, 
2, and Garfield's argument, Works, I, 158; Vallandighani' s Case, I Wallace, 
243. On Lincoln's proclamation of September 24, 1862, see Curtis, Constitu- 
tional History, II, 668-686. See also Rhodes, United States, IV, 169-172, 
230, note 2 ; Dunning, Essays, 37-49 ; Thayer, Cases on Constitutional Law, 
2374, 2375 ; Johnston in Lalor's Cyclopcedia, II, 432-434 ; reports of the 
Provost Marshal General ; Sydney G. Fisher in Polit. Sci. Quart., Ill, 454 ; 
Whiting, IVar Powers; Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, VII, chap. 12; VIII, 
chap. 2. 

An Act relating to Habeas Corpus, and regulating Judicial 
Proceedings in Certain Cases. 

Be it enacted . . ., That, during the present rebellion, the 
President of the United States, whenever, in his judgment, the 
public safety may require it, is authorized to suspend the privi- 
lege of the writ of habeas corpus in any case throughout the 
United States, or any part thereof. And whenever and wher- 
ever the said privilege shall be suspended, as aforesaid, no mili- 
tary or other officer shall be compelled, in answer to any writ 
of habeas corpus, to return the body of any person or persons 
detained by him by authority of the President ; but upon the 
certificate, under oath, of the officer having charge of any one 
so detained that such person is detained by him as a prisoner 
under authority' of the President, further proceedings under the 
writ of habeas corpus shall be suspended by the judge or court 
having issued the said writ, so long as said suspension by the 
President shall remain in force, and said rebellion continue. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretar}- of State 
and the Secretary of War be, and they are hereby, directed, as 
soon as may be practicable, to furnish to the judges of the 
circuit and district courts of the United States and of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia a list of the names of all persons, citizens of 
states in which the administration of the laws has continued 
unimpaired in the said Federal courts, who are now, or may 
hereafter be, held as prisoners of the United States, by order or 
authority- of the President of the United States or either of said 
Secretaries, in any fort, arsenal, or other place, as state or politi- 



1S63] HABE-\S CORFUS 7/ 

cal prisoners, or otherwise than as prisoners of war ; the said 
list to contain the names of all those who reside in the respec- 
tive jurisdictions of said judges, or who may be deemed b}- the 
said Secretaries, or either of them, to have violated any law of 
the United States in any of said jurisdictions, and also the date 
of each arrest ; . . . And in all cases where a grand jur}-, hav- 
ing attended any of said courts having jurisdiction in the prem- 
ises, after the passage of this act, and after the furnishing of 
said list, as aforesaid, has terminated its session without finding 
an indictment or presentment, or other proceeding against any 
such person, it shall be the dut)- of the judge of said court forth- 
with to make an order that any such prisoner desiring a dis- 
charge from said imprisonment be brought before him to be 
discharged ; and ever}- officer of the United States having cus- 
tody of such prisoner is hereby directed immediately to obey and 
execute said judge's order; and in case he shall delay or refuse 
so to do, he shall be subject to indictment for a misdemeanor, 
and be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars 
and imprisonment in the common jail for a period not less than 
six months, in the discretion of the court : Froviifcd, /imcez'er, 
That no person shall be discharged by virtue of the provisions 
of this act until after he or she shall have taken an oath of alle- 
giance to the Government of the United States, and to support 
the Constitution thereof ; and that he or she will not hereafter 
in any way encourage or give aid and comfort to the present 
rebellion, or the supporters thereof: And proi'idcd, also, That 
the judge or court before whom such person may be brought, 
before discharging him or her from imprisonment, shall have 
power, on examination of the case, and, if the public safety shall 
require it, shall be required to cause him or her to enter into 
recognizance, with or witliout suret}-, in a sum to be fixed by 
said judge or court, to keep the peace and be of good behavior 
towards the United States and its citizens, and from time to 
time, and at such times as such judge or court may direct, 
appear before said judge or court to be further dealt with, ac- 
cording to law, as the circumstances may require. And it shall 



^S HABEAS CORPUS [March 3 

be the duty of the district attorney of the United States to 
attend such examination before the judge. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That in case any of such 
prisoners shall be under indictment or presentment for any 
offence against the laws of the United States, and by existing 
laws bail or a recognizance may be taken for the appearance 
for trial of such person, it shall be the duty of said judge at 
once to discharge such person upon bail or recognizance for 
trial as aforesaid. And in case the said Secretaries of State 
and War shall for any reason refuse or omit to furnish the said 
list of persons held as prisoners as aforesaid at the time of the 
passage of this act within twenty days thereafter, and of such 
persons as hereafter may be arrested within twenty days from 
the time of the arrest, any citizen may, after a grand jury shall 
have terminated its session without finding an indictment or 
presentment, as provided in the second section of this act, by 
a petition alleging the facts aforesaid touching any of the per- 
sons so as aforesaid imprisoned, supported by the oath of such 
petitioner or any other credible person, obtain and be entitled 
to have the said judge's order to discharge such prisoner on the 
same terms and conditions prescribed in the second section of 
this act : Provided, hozvever, That the said judge shall be satis- 
fied such allegations are true. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That any order of the Presi- 
dent, or under his authority, made at any time during the exist- 
ence of the present rebellion, shall be a defence in all courts to 
any action or prosecution, civil or criminal, pending, or to be 
commenced, for any search, seizure, arrest, or imprisonment, 
made, done, or committed, or acts omitted to be done, under 
and by virtue of such order, or under color of any law of Con- 
gress, and such defence may be made by special plea, or under 
the general issue. 

Sec. 5. [Actions against officers and others for torts in 
arrests may be removed to circuit court of the United States.] 

Sec. 6. [Suit may be carried to the Supreme Court.] 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That no suit or prosecution, 



1863] COLLECTION OF ABANDONED PROPERTY 79 

civil or criminal, shall be maintained for any arrest or imprison- 
ment made, or other trespasses or wrongs done or committed, 
or act omitted to be done, at any time during the present rebel- 
lion, by virtue or under color of any authority derived from or 
exercised by or under the President of the United States, or by 
or under any act of Congress, unless the same shall have been 
commenced within two years next after such arrest, imprison- 
ment, trespass, or wrong may have been done or committed or 
act may have been omitted to be done : Provided, That in no 
case shall the limitation herein provided commence to run until 
the passage of this act, so that no party shall, by virtue of this 
act, be debarred of his remedy by suit or prosecution until two 
years from and after the passage of this act. 
Approved, March 3, 1863. 



No. 33. Act for the Collection of Abandoned 
Property- 
March 3, 1863 

A BILL " to provide for the collection of abandoned property, for the pur- 
chase of staples, and for the prevention of frauds in the insurrectionary dis- 
tricts within the United States," was introduced in the Senate, February 19, 
1863, by Zachariah Chandler of Michigan, and referred to the Committee on 
Commerce, which reported it with amendments on the 26th. Of the amend- 
ments agreed to by the House, the most important were those providing that 
the act should not apply to naval prizes, and striking out the section authoriz- 
ing the purchase of certain agricultural staples by agents of the government. 
The bill passed the House February 27, and the Senate March 3. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XH, 820, 821. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Jou7-nals, 37th Cong., 3d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The House proceedings are not important. See also House 
Exec. Doc. gg, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. 

An Act to provide for the Collection of abando7icd Property and 
for the Prevention of Frauds in insurrectionary Districts ivithin 
the United States. 
Be it enacted . . ., That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of 

the Treasury, from and after the passage of this act, as he shall 



8o COLLECTION OF ABANDONED PROPERTY [March 3 

from time to time see fit, to appoint a special agent or agents to 
receive and collect all abandoned or captured property in any- 
state or territory, or any portion of any state or territory, of the 
United States, designated as in insurrection against the lawful 
Government of the United States by the proclamation of the Pres- 
ident of July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two : Provided, 
That such property shall not include any kind or description which 
has been used, or which was intended to be used, for waging or 
carrying on war against the United States, such as arms, ordnance, 
ships, steamboats, or other water craft, and the furniture, forage, 
military supplies, or munitions of war. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any part of the goods 
or property received or collected by such agent or agents may be 
appropriated to public use on due appraisement and certificate 
thereof, or forwarded to any place of sale within the loyal states, 
as the public interests may require ; and all sales of such property 
shall be at auction to the highest bidder, and the proceeds thereof 
shall be paid into the treasury of the United States. 

Sec. 3, And be it further enacted, . . . And any person claim- 
ing to have been the owner of any such abandoned or captured 
property may, at any time within two years after the suppression of 
the rebellion, prefer his claim to the proceeds thereof in the court 
of claims ; and on proof to the satisfaction of said court of his 
ownership of said property, of his right to the proceeds thereof, 
and that he has never given any aid or comfort to the present 
rebellion, to receive the residue of such proceeds, after the deduc- 
tion of any purchase-money which may have been paid, together 
with the expense of transportation and sale of said property, and 
any other lawful expenses attending the disposition thereof. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That all property coming into 
any of the United States not declared in insurrection as aforesaid, 
from within any of the states declared in insurrection, through or 
by any other person than any agent duly appointed under the pro- 
visions of this act, or under a lawful clearance by the proper officer 
of the Treasury Department, shall be confiscated to the use of the 
Government of the United States. . . . And any agent or agents, 



iS63] FOREIGN MEDIATION 8 1 

person or persons, by or through whom such property shall come 
within the lines of the United States unlawfully, as aforesaid, shall 
be judged guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall 
be fined in any sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, or impris- 
oned for any time not exceeding one year, or both, at the discre- 
tion of the court. . . . 

Sec. 5. [Pay of special agents at ports opened in states in 
insurrection.] 

Sec. 6. And be it furtlier enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
every officer or private of the regular or volunteer forces of the 
United States, or any officer, sailor, or marine in the naval service 
of the United States upon the inland waters of the United States, 
who may take or receive any such abandoned property, or cotton, 
sugar, rice, or tobacco, from persons in such insurrectionary dis- 
tricts, or have it under his control, to turn the same over to an 
agent appointed as aforesaid, who shall give a receipt therefor ; 
and in case he shall refuse or neglect so to do, he shall be tried 
by a court-martial, and shall be dismissed from the service, or, if 
an officer, reduced to the ranks, or suffer such other punishment 
as said court shall order, with the approval of the President of the 
United States. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That none of the provisions 
of this act shall apply to any lawful maritime prize by the naval 
forces of the United States. 

Approved, March 12,^ 1863. 



No. 34. Resolution against Foreign Mediation 

March 3, 1863 

December 4, 1862, Thaddeus Stevens offered in the House four resolu- 
tions, one of which declared " that this government can never accept the 
mediation nor permit the intervention of any foreign nation during this re- 
bellion in our domestic affairs." A report from the Secretary of State, with 
documents, " on the subjects of mediation, arbitration, or other measures look- 

1 See House Report 108, 33th Cong., ist Sess. 



82 FOREIGN MEDIATION [March 3 

ing to the termination of the existing civil war," was laid before the Senate 
February 12, 1863, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, which 
reported on the 28th, through Charles Sumner, the resolution following. The 
resolution passed the Senate March 3, by a vote of 31 to 5, and the House on 
the same day by a vote of 103 to 28. 

References. — Text in Senate J otcrnal, 37th Cong., 3d Sess., 367, 368. 
There was no debate in the House. For the diplomatic correspondence see 
British and Fo7-eign State Papers, LV, 412-451. See also Nicolay and Hay, 
Lincoln, VI, chap. 4. 



Whereas it appears from the diplomatic correspondence sub- 
mitted to Congress that a proposition, friendly in form, looking 
to pacification through foreign mediation, has been made to the 
United States by the Emperor of the French and promptly 
decHned by the President ; and whereas the idea of mediation 
or intervention in some shape may be regarded by foreign gov- 
ernments as practicable, and such governments, through this 
misunderstanding, may be led to proceedings tending to embar- 
rass the friendly relations which now exist between them and 
the United States ; and whereas, in order to remove for the 
future all chance of misunderstanding on this subject, and to 
secure for the United States the full enjoyment of that freedom 
from foreign interference which is one of the highest rights of 
independent states, it seems fit that Congress should declare its 
convictions thereon : Therefore — 

Resolved, (the House of Representatives concurring,) That 
while in times past the United States have sought and accepted 
the friendly mediation or arbitration of foreign powers for the 
pacific adjustment of international questions, where the United 
States were the party of the one part and some other sovereign 
power the party of the other part ; and while they are not dis- 
posed to misconstrue the natural and humane desire of foreign 
powers to aid in arresting domestic troubles, which, widening in 
their influence, have afflicted other countries, especially in view 
of the circumstance, deeply regretted by the American people, 
that the blow aimed by the rebellion at the national life has fallen 
heavily upon the laboring population of Europe : yet, notwith- 



1863] FOREIGN MEDIATION 83 

Standing these things, Congress cannot hesitate to regard every 
proposition of foreign interference in the present contest as so 
far unreasonable and inadmissible that its only explanation will 
be found in a misunderstanding of the true state of the question, 
and of the real character of the war in which the republic is 
engaged. 

Resolved, That the United States are now grappling with an 
unprovoked and wicked rebellion, which is seeking the destruc- 
tion of the republic that it may build a new power, whose 
corner-stone, according to the confession of its chief, shall be 
slavery; that for the suppression of this rebellion, and thus to 
save the republic and to prevent the establishment of such a 
power, the national government is now employing armies and 
fleets, in full faith that through these efforts all the purposes of 
conspirators and rebels will be crushed ; that while engaged in 
this struggle, on which so much depends, any proposition from 
a foreign power, whatever form it may take, having for its object 
the arrest of these efforts, is, just in proportion to its influence, 
an encouragement to the rebellion, and to its declared preten- 
sions, and, on this account, is calculated to prolong and embitter 
the conflict, to cause increased expenditure of blood and treas- 
ure, and to postpone the much-desired day of peace ; that, with 
these convictions, and not doubting that every such proposition, 
although made with good intent, is injurious to the national 
interests. Congress will be obliged to look upon any further 
attempt in the same direction as an unfriendly act which it 
earnestly deprecates, to the end that nothing may occur abroad 
to strengthen the rebellion or to weaken those relations of good 
will with foreign powers which the United States are happy to 
cultivate. 

Resolved, That the rebellion from its beginning, and far back 
even in the conspiracy which preceded its outbreak, was encour- 
aged by the hope of support from foreign powers ; that its chiefs 
frequently boasted that the people of Europe were so far de- 
pendent upon regular supplies of the great southern 'staple that, 
sooner or later, their governments would be constrained to take 



84 FOREIGN MEDIATION [March 3 

side with the rebellion in some effective form, even to the extent 
of forcible intervention, if the milder form did not prevail ; that 
the rebellion is now sustained by this hope, which every propo- 
sition of foreign interference quickens anew, and that, without 
this life-giving support, it must soon yield to the just and paternal 
authority of the national government ; that, considering these 
things, which are aggravated by the motive of the resistance 
thus encouraged, the United States regret that foreign powers 
have not frankly told the chiefs of the rebellion that the work in 
which they are engaged is hateful, and that a new government, 
such as they seek to found, with slavery as its acknowledged 
cornerstone, and with no other declared object of separate exist- 
ence, is so far shocking to civilization and the moral sense of 
mankind that it must not expect welcome or recognition in the 
commonwealth of nations. 

Resolved^ That the United States, confident in the justice of 
their cause, which is the cause, also, of good government and of 
human rights everywhere among men ; anxious for the speedy 
restoration of peace, which shall secure tranquillity at home and 
remove all occasion of complaint abroad ; and awaiting with 
well-assured trust the final suppression of the rebellion, through 
which all these things, rescued from present danger, will be 
secured forever, and the republic, one and indivisible, trium- 
phant over its enemies, will continue to stand an example to 
mankind, hereby annotmce, as their unalterable purpose, that the 
war will be vigorously prosecuted, according to the humane 
principles of Christian states, until the rebellion shall be over- 
come ; and they reverently invoke upon their cause the bless- 
ings of Almighty God. 

Resolved, That the President be requested to transmit a copy 
of these resolutions, through the Secretary of State, to the minis- 
ters of the United States in foreign countries, that the declara- 
tion and protest herein set forth may be communicated by them 
to the governments to which they are accredited. 



1863] PROCLAxMATlON OF AMNESTY 85 

No. 35. Proclamation of Amnesty- 
December 8, 1863 

The proclamation of December 8, 1863, offering amnesty on conditions, 
was issued under authority of the so-called Confiscation Act of July 17, 1862 
[No. 24]. In his annual message of the same date, Lincoln urged the propriety 
of the proclamation, and expressed the opinion "that nothing is attempted 
beyond what Is amply justified by the Constitution." A supplementary proc- 
lamation of March 26, 1S64, explained that the previous proclamation did not 
apply to prisoners of war. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, Appendix, vii-ix. A 
circular to United States district attorneys is in McPherson, Rebellion, 148, 
149. See also Cox, Three Decades, chap. t,2> '■> Johnston in Lalor^s Cyclopoedia, 
I, 89, 90 ; Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, IX, chap. 19; Blaine, Twenty Years of 
Congress, I, chap. 21 ; McCall, Thaddeus Stevens, chap. 13, 

[The proclamation begins with a statement of the constitu- 
tional right of the President to grant pardons, of the existence 
of rebellion in certain States, of the authorization of pardon by 
proclamation under the Confiscation Act, and of the previous 
issuance of proclamations " in regard to the liberation of slaves," 
and continues : ] and 

Whereas, it is now desired by some persons heretofore en- 
gaged in said rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United 
States, and to reinaugurate loyal state governments within and 
for their respective states : Therefore — 

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do pro- 
claim, declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly 
or by implication, participated in the existing rebellion, except 
as hereinafter excepted, that a full pardon is hereby granted to 
them and each of them, with restoration of all rights of property, 
except as to slaves, and in property cases where rights of third 
parties shall have intervened, and upon the condition that every 
such person shall take and subscribe an oath, and thenceforward 
keep and maintain said oath inviolate ; and which oath shall be 
registered for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor 
and effect following, to wit : — 



86 PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY [Dec. 8 

" I, , do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty 



God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and de- 
fend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the 
States thereunder ; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and 
faithfully support all acts of congress passed during the existing 
rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not re- 
pealed, modified, or held void by congress, or by decision of the 
supreme court ; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and 
faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during 
the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so 
far as not modified or declared void by decision of the supreme 
court. So help me God." 

The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing pro- 
visions are all who are, or shall have been, civil or diplomatic 
officers or agents of the so-called Confederate government ; all 
who have left judicial stations under the United States to aid 
the rebellion ; all who are, or shall have been, military or naval 
officers of said so-called Confederate government above the rank 
of colonel in the army or of lieutenant in the navy ; all who left 
seats in the United States congress to aid the rebellion ; all who 
resigned commissions in the army or navy of the United States 
and afterwards aided the rebellion ; and all who have engaged 
in any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in 
charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war, and 
which persons may have been found in the United States service 
as soldiers, seamen, or in any other capacity. 

And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that 
whenever, in any of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Caro- 
lina, and North Carolina,^ a number of persons, not less than 
one tenth in number of the votes cast in such state at the presi- 
dential election of the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- 
dred and sixty, each having taken the oath aforesaid, and not 

1 The omission of Virginia is explained by the fact that Lincoln had already 
recognized the so-called Pierpont government. 



i863] PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY 8/ 

having since violated it, and being a qualified voter by the elec- 
tion law of the state existing immediately before the so-called 
act of secession, and excluding all others, shall reestablish a 
state government which shall be republican, and in nowise con- 
travening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true govern- 
ment of the state, and the state shall receive thereunder the 
benefits of the constitutional provision which declares that " the 
United States shall guaranty to every state in this Union a re- 
publican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion ; and on application of the legislature, or the 
executive, (when the legislature cannot be convened,) against 
domestic violence." 

And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that any 
provision which may be adopted by such state government in 
relation to the freed people of such state, which shall recognize 
and declare their permanent freedom, provide for their educa- 
tion, and which may yet be consistent as a temporary arrange- 
ment with their present condition as a laboring, landless, and 
homeless class, will not be objected to by the National Executive. 

And it is suggested as not improper that, in constructing a 
loyal state government in any state, the name of the state, the 
boundary, the subdivisions, the constitution, and the general 
code of laws, as before the rebellion, be maintained, subject only 
to the modifications made necessary by the conditions hereinbe- 
fore stated, and such others, if any, not contravening said con- 
ditions, and which may be deemed expedient by those framing 
the new state government. 

To avoid misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this 
proclamation, so far as it relates to state governments, has no 
reference to states wherein loyal state governments have all the 
while been maintained. And, for the same reason, it may be 
proper to further say, that whether members sent to congress 
from any state shall be admitted to seats constitutionally rests 
exclusively with the respective houses, and not to any extent 
with the Executive. And still further, that this proclamation is 
intended to present the people of the states wherein the national 



88 SUFPLEMENTARY ENROLMENT ACT [Feb. 24 

authority has been suspended, and loyal state governments have 
been subverted, a mode in and by which the national authority 
and loyal state governments may be reestablished within said 
states, or in any of them ; and, while the mode presented is the 
best the Executive can suggest, with his present impressions, 
it must not be understood that no other possible mode would 
be acceptable. 



No. 36. Supplementary Enrolment Act 

February 24, 1864 

A BILL to amend the enrolment act of March 3, 1863 [No. 31], was intro- 
duced in the Senate, January 5, 1864, by Wilson of Massachusetts, and on the 
l8th passed with amendments, the vote being 30 to 10. With further amend- 
ments the bill passed the House, February 12, by a vote of 94 to 65. The 
Senate refused to accept the amendments of the House, and the bill received 
its final form from a conference committee. The discussions and proposed 
amendments related chiefly to the furnishing of substitutes, the penalty for 
resistance to the draft, and the enlistment of negroes. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Lai-ge, XHI, 6-1 1. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. 

An Act to amend an Act ejititled ^'An Act for emvlling and call- 
ing out the National Forces, and for other Purposes,''' approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. 

Be it ejiacted . . ., That the President of the United States 
shall be authorized, whenever he shall deem it necessary, during 
the present war, to call for such number of men for the military 
service of the United States as the public exigencies may require. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the quota of each ward 
of a city, town, township, precinct, or election district, or of a 
county, where the county is not divided into wards, towns, town- 
ships, precincts, or election districts, shall be, as nearly as pos- 
sible, in proportion to the number of men resident therein liable 



1864] SUPPLEMENTARY ENROLMENT ACT 89 

to render military service, taking into account as far as practica- 
ble, the number which has been previously furnished therefrom ; 
and in ascertaining and filling said quota there shall be taken into 
account the number of men who have heretofore entered the 
naval service of the United States, and whose names are borne 
upon the enrolment lists as already returned to the office of the 
provost-marshal general of the United States. 

Sec. 3. [If quota is not filled by volunteers, draft to be 
made.] 

Sec. 4. A?id be it further enacted, That any person enrolled 
under the provisions of the act . . . [of March 3, 1863] . . ., 
or who may be hereafter so enrolled, may furnish, at any time 
previous to the draft, an acceptable substitute, who is not liable 
to draft, nor at the time in the military or naval service of the 
United States, and such person so furnishing a substitute 
shall be exempt from draft during the time for which [such] 
substitute shall not be liable to draft, not exceeding the time for 
which such substitute shall have been accepted. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, Thz.t any person drafted into 
the military service of the United States may, before the time 
fixed for his appearance for duty at the draft rendezvous, furnish 
an acceptable substitute, subject to such rules and regulations as 
may be prescribed by the Secretary of War. That if such sub- 
stitute is not liable to draft, the person furnishing him shall be 
exempt from draft during the time for which such substitute is 
not liable to draft, not exceeding the term for which he was 
drafted ; and, if such substitute is liable to draft, the name of the 
person furnishing him shall again be placed on the roll, and 
shall be liable to draft on future calls, but not until the present 
enrolment shall be exhausted ; and this exemption shall not ex- 
ceed the term for which such person shall have been drafted. 
And any person now in the military or naval service of the United 
States, not physically disqualified, who has so served more than 
one year, and whose term of unexpired service shall not at the 
time of substitution exceed six months, may be employed as a 
substitute to serve in the troops of the State in which he enlisted ; 



90 SUPPLEMENTARY ENROLMENT ACT [Feb. 24 

and if any drafted person shall hereafter pay money for the procu- 
ration of a substitute, under the provisions of the act to which 
this is an amendment, such payment of money shall operate only 
to relieve such person from draft in filling that quota ; and his 
name shall be retained on the roll in filling future quotas ; but 
in no instance shall the exemption of any person, on account of 
his payment of commutation money for the procuration of a sub- 
stitute, extend beyond one year ; but at the end of one year, in 
every such case, the name of any person so exempted shall be 
enrolled again, if not before returned to the enrolment list under 
the provisions of this section. 

Sec. 6. Ajid be if further enacted, That boards of enrolment 
shall enroll all persons liable to draft under the provisions of this 
act, and the act to which this is an amendment, whose names 
may have been omitted by the proper enrolling officers ; all per- 
sons who shall arrive at the age of twenty years before the draft ; 
all aliens who shall declare their intentions to become citizens ; 
all persons discharged from the military or naval service of the 
United States who have not been in such service two years 
during the present war ; and all persons who have been exempted 
under the provisions of the second section of the act to which 
this is an amendment, but who are not exempted by the pro- 
visions of this act ; and said boards of enrolment shall release 
and discharge from draft all persons who, between the time of 
the enrolment and the draft, shall have arrived at the age of 
forty-five years, and shall strike the names of such persons 
from the enrolment. 

[Sections 7-9 relate to the enlistment of seamen.] 
Sec. id. And be it further enacted, That the following persons 
be and they are hereby exempted from enrolment and draft 
under the provisions of this act and of the act to which this is 
an amendment, to wit : Such as are rejected as physically or 
mentally unfit for the service, all persons actually in the military 
or naval service of the United States at the time of the draft, and 
all persons who have served in the military or naval service two 
years during the present war and been honorably discharged 



1 864] SUPPLEMENTARY ENROLMENT ACT 9 1 

therefrom ; and no persons but such as are herein exempted 
shall be exempt. 

Sec. II. And be it further enacted, That section third of the 
" Act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for 
other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three, and so much of section ten of said act as provides 
for the separate enrolment of each class, be, and the same are 
hereby repealed ; and it shall be the duty of the board of enrol- 
ment of each district to consolidate the two classes mentioned 
in the third section of said act. 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall 
forcibly resist or oppose any enrolment, or who shall incite, 
counsel, encourage, or who shall conspire or confederate with 
any other person or persons forcibly to resist or oppose any such 
enrolment, or who shall aid or assist, or take any part in any 
forcible resistance or opposition thereto, or who shall assault, 
obstruct, hinder, impede, or threaten any officer or other person 
employed in making or in aiding to make such enrolment, or 
employed in the performance, or in aiding in the performance 
of any service in any way relating thereto, or in arresting or aid- 
ing to arrest any spy or deserter from the military service of the 
United States, shall, upon conviction thereof in any court com- 
petent to try the offence, be punished by a fine not exceeding five 
thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, 
or by both of said punishments in the discretion of the court. 
And in cases where such assaulting, obstructing, hindering, or 
impeding shall produce the death of said officer or other person, 
the offender shall be deemed guilty of murder, and, upon con- 
viction thereof upon indictment in the circuit court of the United 
States for the district within which the offence was committed, 
shall be punished M'ith death. And nothing in this section con- 
tained shall be construed to relieve the party offending from 
liability, under proper indictment or process, for any crime 
against the laws of a state, committed by him while violating 
the provisions of this section. 

******* 



92 SUPPLEMENTARY ENROLMENT ACT [Feb. 24 

Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That members of religious 
denominations, who shall by oath or affirmation declare that they 
are conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms, and who are 
prohibited from doing so by the rules and articles of faith and 
practice of said religious denominations, shall, when drafted into 
the military service, be considered non-combatants, and shall be 
assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, or to 
the care of freedmen, or shall pay the sum of three hundred dol- 
lars to such person as the Secretary of War shall designate to 
receive it, to be applied to the benefit of the sick and wounded 
soldiers : Provided, That no person shall be entitled to the bene- 
fit of the provisions of this section unless his declaration of con- 
scientious scruples against bearing arms shall be supported by 
satisfactory evidence that his deportment has been uniformly 
consistent with such declaration. 

Sec. 18. Afid be it further enacted, That no person of foreign 
birth shall, on account of alienage, be exempted from enrolment 
or draft under the provisions of this act, or the act to which it is 
an amendment, who has at any time assumed the rights of a 
citizen by voting at any election held under authority of the laws 
of any state or territory, or of the United States, or who has 
held any office under such laws or any of them ; but the fact 
that any such person of foreign birth has voted or held, or shall 
vote or hold, office as aforesaid, shall be taken as conclusive 
evidence that he is not entitled to exemption from military ser- 
vice on account of alienage. 

******* 

Sec. 24. And be it further enacted. That all able-bodied male 
colored persons, between the ages of twenty and forty-five years, 
resident in the United States, shall be enrolled according to the 
provisions of this act, and of the act to which this is an amend- 
ment, and form part of the national forces ; and when a slave 
of a loyal master shall be drafted and mustered into the service 
of the United States, his master shall have a certificate thereof, 
and thereupon such slave shall be free ; and the bounty of one 
hundred dollars, now payable by law for each drafted man, shall 



1 864] NATIONAL BANK ACT 93 

be paid to the person to whom such drafted person was owing 
service or labor at the time of his muster into the service of the 
United States. The Secretary of War shall appoint a commis- 
sion in each of the slave States represented in Congress, charged 
to award to each loyal person to whom a colored volunteer may 
owe service a just compensation, not exceeding three hundred 
dollars, for each such colored volunteer, payable out of the 
fund derived from commutations, and every such colored vol- 
unteer on being mustered into the service shall be free. And 
in all cases when men of color have been heretofore enlisted or 
have volunteered in the military service of the United States, 
all the provisions of this act, so far as the payment of bounty 
and compensation are provided, shall be equally applicable as 
to those who may be hereafter recruited. But men of color, 
drafted or enlisted, or who may volunteer into the military ser- 
vice, while they shall be credited on the quotas of the several 
states, or subdivisions of states, wherein they are respectively 
drafted, enlisted, or shall volunteer, shall not be assigned as 
state troops, but shall be mustered into regiments or companies 
as United States colored troops.^ 

******* 

Sec. 27. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act 
entitled "An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, 
and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-three, as may be inconsistent with the provisions 
of this act, is hereby repealed. 

Approved, February 24, 1864. 



No. 37. National Bank Act 

June 3, 1864 

The beginning of the present national l^ank system is to be found in the 
act " to provide a national currency, secured by a pledge of United States 

1 A joint resolution of March 30, 1867, suspended further proceedings under 
this section. 



94 NATIONAL BANK ACT [June 3 

stocks, and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof," approved 
February 25, 1863. This act, however, proved defective, and the comptroller 
of the currency, in a report accompanying the annual report of the Secretary 
of the Treasury, December 10, 1863, made numerous suggestions for amend- 
ment. A bill with the same title as the existing act was reported in the House, 
March 14, by Hooper of Massachusetts, from the Committee of Ways and 
Means, and after protracted discussion was laid on the table by a vote of 90 
to 44. Another bill with similar title was introduced by Hooper, April 11, 
and passed the House on the i8th by a vote of 80 to 66. A bill to the same 
effect had been introduced in the Senate, April 8, by John Sherman of Ohio, 
and referred to the Committee on Finance, which, on the 21st, reported the 
House bill with amendments. The amended bill passed the Senate, May 11, 
by a vote of 30 to 9. The House disagreed to the Senate amendments, and 
the bill received its final form from a conference committee, whose report was 
accepted by the houses June i. 

Referen'CES. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XHI, 99-118. Only the 
most important parts of the act are given below. The act has been many 
times amended ; editions showing the various changes are issued from time to 
time by the comptroller of the currency. For the proceedings see the Hoiise 
and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., ist Sess., and the Co7ig. Globe, where will 
be found the texts of all the important amendments proposed or adopted. A 
comparison of Hooper's first bill with the act of February 25 will be found in 
the Globe, March 23. See also Dewey, Financial History, 320-328 ; John 
Sherman, Recollections, chap. 13; McCulloch, Alen and Measures, chap. 15; 
Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, I, chap. 22. 

An Act to provide a National Currency., secured by a Pledge 
of United States Bonds, and to provide for the Circulation and 
Redemption thereof. 

Be it enacted . . ., That there shall be established in the 
treasury department a separate bureau, which shall be charged 
with the execution of this and all other laws that may be passed 
by congress respecting the issue and regulation of a national 
currency secured by United States bonds. The chief officer of 
the said bureau shall be denominated the comptroller of the 
currency, and shall be under the general direction of the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury. He shall be appointed by the President, 
on the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall hold 



1864] NATIONAL BANK ACT 95 

his office for the term of five years unless sooner removed by 
the President, upon reasons to be communicated by him to the 
Senate ; . . . [salary, clerks, bonds, etc.] , . . The comptroller 
and deputy-comptroller shall not, either directly or indirectly, 
be interested in any association issuing national currency under 
the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 2. [Seal, &c. Certain papers under such seal to be 
evidence.] 

Sec. 3. [Rooms, vaults, &c.] 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the term '* United 
States Bonds," as used in this act, shall be construed to mean 
all registered bonds now issued, or that may hereafter be issued, 
on the faith of the United States by the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury in pursuance of law. 

Sec. 5. A7id be it further e?iacted, That associations for carry- 
ing on the business of banking may be formed by any number 
of persons, not less in any case than five, who shall enter into 
articles of association, which shall specify in general terms the 
object for which the association is formed, and may contain any 
other provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, 
which the association may see fit to adopt for the regulation of 
the business of the association and the conduct of its affairs, 
which said articles shall be signed by the persons uniting to 
form the association, and a copy of them forwarded to the 
comptroller of the currency, to be filed and preserved in his 
office. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the persons uniting to 
form such an association shall, under their hands, make an 
organization certificate, which shall specify — 

First. The name assumed by such association, which name 
shall be subject to the approval of the comptroller. 

Second. The place where its operations of discount and de- 
posit are to be carried on, designating the state, territory, or 
district, and also the particular county and city, town, or village. 

Third. The amount of its capital stock, and the number of 
shares into which the same shall be divided. 



96 NATIONAL BANK ACT [June 3 

Fourth. The names and places of residence of the share- 
holders, and the number of shares held by each of them. 

Fifth. A declaration that said certificate is made to enable 
such persons to avail themselves of the advantages of this act. 

[Certificate to be acknowledged. Copies under seal to be 
evidence.] 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That no association shall 
be organized under this act, with a less capital than one hun- 
dred thousand dollars, nor in a city whose population exceeds 
fifty thousand persons, with a less capital than two hundred 
thousand dollars : Provided, That banks with a capital of not 
less than fifty thousand dollars may, with the approval of the 
Secretary of the Treasury, be organized in any place the popu- 
lation of which does not exceed six thousand inhabitants.^ 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That every association 
formed pursuant to the provisions of this act shall, from the 
date of the execution of its organization certificate, be a body 
corporate, but shall transact no business except such as may be 
incidental to its organization and necessarily prehminary, until 
authorized by the comptroller of the currency to commence the 
business of banking. Such association shall have power to 
adopt a corporate seal, and shall have succession by the name 
designated in its organization certificate, for the period of twenty 
years from its organization, unless sooner dissolved according 
to the provisions of its articles of association, or by the act of 
its shareholders owning two thirds of its stock, or unless the 
franchise shall be forfeited by a violation of this act ; by such 
name it may make contracts, sue and be sued, complain and 
defend, in any court of law and equity as fully as natural per- 
sons ; it may elect or appoint directors, and by its board of 
directors appoint a president, vice-president, cashier, and other 
officers, define their duties, require bonds of them and fix the 
penalty thereof, dismiss said officers or any of them at pleasure, 
and appoint others to fill their places, and exercise under this 
act all such incidental powers as shall be necessary to carry on 

1 See act of March 14, 1900, section 10. 



1 864] NATIONAL B.VNK ACT 9/ 

the business of banking by discounting and negotiating prom- 
issory^ notes, drafts, bills of exchange, and other evidences of 
debt ; by receiving deposits ; by buying and selling exchange, 
coin, and bullion ; by loaning money on personal security ; by 
obtaining, issuing, and circulating notes according to the pro- 
visions of this act ; and its board of directors shall also have 
power to define and regulate by by-laws, not inconsistent with 
the provisions of this act, the manner in which its stock shall 
be transferred, its directors elected or appointed, its officers 
appointed, its property transferred, its general business con- 
ducted, and all the privileges granted by this act to associations 
organized under it shall be exercised and enjoyed ; and its 
usual business shall be transacted at an office or banking house 
located in the place specified in its organization certificate. 

Sec. 9. And be it further efiacted, That the affairs of every 
association shall be managed by not less than five directors, one 
of whom shall be the president. Every director shall, during 
his whole term of service, be a citizen of the United States ; and 
at least three fourths of the directors shall have resided in the 
state, territor)^ or district in which such association is located 
one year next preceding their election as directors, and be resi- 
dents of the same during their continuance in office. Each 
director shall own, in his own right, at least ten shares of the 
capital stock of the association of which he is a director. . . . 
[Oath.] . . . 

Sec. 10. [Term of office of directors; elections; vacancies, 
how filled.] 

Sec. II. And be it further enacted, That in all elections of 
directors, and in deciding all questions at meetings of share- 
holders, each shareholder shall be entitled to one vote on each 
share of stock held by him. Shareholders may vote by proxies 
duly authorized in writing ; but no officer, clerk, teller, or book- 
keeper of such association shall act as proxy ; and no share- 
holder whose liability is past due and unpaid shall be allowed 
to vote. 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the capital stock of 
II 



98 NATIONAL BANK ACT [Junes 

any association formed under this act shall be divided into 
shares of one hundred dollars each, and be deemed personal 
property and transferable on the books of the association in 
such manner as may be prescribed in the by-laws or articles of 
association ; and every person becoming a shareholder by such 
transfer shall, in proportion to his shares, succeed to all the 
rights and liabilities of the prior holder of such shares, and no 
change shall be made in the articles of association by which the 
rights, remedies, or security of the existing creditors of the asso- 
ciation shall be impaired. The shareholders of each association 
formed under the provisions of this act, and of each existing 
bank or banking association that may accept the provisions of 
this act, shall be held individually responsible, equally and 
ratably, and not one for another, for all contracts, debts, and 
engagements of such association to the extent of the amount of 
their stock therein at the par value thereof, in addition to the 
amount invested in such shares ; except that shareholders of 
any banking association now existing under state laws, having 
not less than five millions of dollars of capital actually paid in, 
and a surplus of twenty per centum on hand, both to be deter- 
mined by the comptroller of the currency, shall be liable only to 
the amount invested in their shares ; ^ and such surplus of twenty 
per centum shall be kept undiminished, and be in addition to 
the surplus provided for in this act ; and if at any time there 
shall be a deficiency in said surplus of twenty per centum, the 
said banking association shall not pay any dividends to its 
shareholders until such deficiency shall be made good ; and in 
case of such deficiency, the comptroller of the currency may 
compel said banking association to close its business and wind 
up its affairs under the provisions of this act. And the comp- 
troller shall have authority to withhold from an association his 
certificate authorizing the commencement of business, whenever 
he shall have reason to suppose that the shareholders thereof 
have formed the same for any other than the legitimate objects 
contemplated by this act. 
1 This exception was designed to include the Bank of Commerce of New York. 



1 864] NATIONAL BANK ACT 99 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for 
any association formed vmder this act, by its articles of associa- 
tion, to provide for an increase of its capital from time to time, 
as may be deemed expedient, subject to the limitations of this 
act : Provided, That the maximum of such increase in the articles 
of association shall be determined by the comptroller of the cur- 
rency ; and no increase of capital shall be valid until the whole 
amount of such increase shall be paid in, and notice thereof 
shall have been transmitted to the comptroller of the currency, 
and his certificate obtained specifying the amount of such in- 
crease of capital stock, with his approval thereof, and that it 
has been duly paid in as part of the capital of such association. 
And every association shall have power, by the vote of share- 
holders owning two thirds of its capital stock, to reduce the 
capital of such association to any sum not below the amount 
required by this act, in the formation of associations : Provided, 
That by no such reduction shall its capital be brought below the 
amount required by this act for its outstanding circulation, nor 
shall any such reduction be made until the amount of the pro- 
posed reduction has been reported to the comptroller of the cur- 
rency and his approval thereof obtained. 

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That at least fifty per 
centum of the capital stock of every association shall be paid in 
before it shall be authorized to commence business ; and the 
remainder of the capital stock of such association shall be paid 
in instalments of at least ten per centum each on the whole 
amount of the capital as frequently as one instalment at the end 
of each succeeding month from the time it shall be authorized 
by the comptroller to commence business ; and the payment of 
each instalment shall be certified to the comptroller, under oath, 
by the president or cashier of the association. 

Sec. 15. [Proceedings if shareholder fails to pay instalments.] 

Sec. 16. And be it further e?iacted. That every association, 
after having complied with the provisions of this act, prelimi- 
nary to the commencement of banking business under its pro- 
visions, and before it shall be authorized to commence business, 



100 NATIONAL BANK ACT [June 3 

shall transfer and deliver to the treasurer of the United States 
any United States registered bonds bearing interest to an 
amount not less than thirty thousand dollars nor less than one 
third of the capital stock paid in, which bonds shall be deposited 
with the treasurer of the United States and by him safely kept 
in his office until the same shall be otherwise disposed of, in 
pursuance of the provisions of this act ; and the Secretary of 
the Treasury is hereby authorized to receive and cancel any 
United States coupon bonds, and to issue in lieu thereof regis- 
tered bonds of like amount, bearing a like rate of interest, and 
having the same time to run ; and the deposit of bonds shall be, 
by every association, increased as its capital may be paid up or 
increased, so that every association shall at all times have on 
deposit with the treasurer registered United States bonds to the 
amount of at least one third of its capital stock actually paid in : 
Provided^ That nothing in this section shall prevent an associa- 
tion that may desire to reduce its capital or to close up its busi- 
ness and dissolve its organization from taking up its bonds upon 
returning to the comptroller its circulating notes in the propor- 
tion hereinafter named in this act, nor from taking up any excess 
of bonds beyond one third of its capital stock and upon which 
no circulating notes have been delivered. 

Sec. 17. And be it further enacted^ That whenever a certificate 
shall have been transmitted to the comptroller of the currency, 
as provided in this act, and the association transmitting the 
same shall notify the comptroller that at least fifty per centum 
of its capital stock has been paid in as aforesaid, and that such 
association has complied with all the provisions of this act as 
required to be complied with before such association shall be 
authorized to commence the business of banking, the comptroller 
shall examine into the condition of such association, ascertain 
especially the amount of money paid in on account of its capital, 
the name and place of residence of each of the directors of such 
association, and the amount of the capital stock of which each 
is the bona fide owner, and generally whether such association 
has complied with all the requirements of this act to entitle it to 



1864] NATIONAL BANK ACT lOI 

engage in the business of banking ; and shall cause to be made 
and attested by the oaths of a majority of the directors and by 
the president or cashier of such association, a statement of all 
the facts necessary to enable the comptroller to determine 
whether such association is lawfully entitled to commence the 
business of banking under this act. 

Sec. 18. [When association is found entitled to commence 
business, comptroller to give certificate.] 

Sec. 19. [Transfers of bonds by association to be made to 
the treasurer in trust ; comptroller to keep transfer book, &c.] 

Sec. 20. [Transfers to be countersigned and entered by 
comptroller.] 

Sec. 21. And be it further enacted, That upon the transfer 
and delivery of bonds to the treasurer, as provided in the fore- 
going section, the association making the same shall be entitled 
to receive from the comptroller of the currency circulating notes 
of different denominations, in blank, registered and counter- 
signed as hereinafter provided, equal in amount to ninety per 
centum of the current market value of the United States bonds 
so transferred and delivered, but not exceeding ninety per cen- 
tum of the amount of said bonds at the par value thereof, if 
bearing interest at a rate not less than five per centum per 
annum ; ^ and at no time shall the total amount of such notes, 

1 An act of March 3, 1865, amended section 21 by adding at this point, in lieu of 
the concluding clause, the following : " and the amount of said circulating notes to 
be furnished to each association shall be in proportion to its paid-up capital as fol- 
lows, and no more : To each association whose capital shall not exceed five hun- 
dred thousand dollars, ninety per centum of such capital; to each association 
whose capital exceeds five hundred thousand dollars, but does not exceed one mill- 
ion dollars, eighty per centum of such capital ; to each association whose capital 
exceeds one million dollars, but does not exceed three millions of dollars, seventy- 
five per centum of such capital ; to each association whose capital exceeds three 
millions of dollars, sixty per cent, of such capital. And that one hundred and fifty 
millions of dollars of the entire amount of circulating notes authorized to be issued 
shall be apportioned to associations in the states, in the District of Columbia, and 
in the territories, according to representative population, and the remainder shall 
be apportioned by the Secretary of the Treasury among associations formed in the 
several states, in the District of Columbia, and in the territories, having due regard 
to the existing banking capital, resources, and business of such states, district, and 



102 NATIONAL BANK ACT [June 3 

issued to any such association, exceed the amount at such time 
actually paid in of its capital stock. 

Sec. 22. And be it further e?iacted, That the entire amount of 
notes for circulation to be issued under this act shall not exceed 
three hundred millions of dollars. In order to furnish suitable 
notes for circulation, the comptroller of the currency is hereby 
authorized and required, under the direction of the Secretary of 
the Treasury, to cause plates and dies to be engraved, in the 
best manner to guard against counterfeiting and fraudulent 
alterations, and to have printed therefrom, and numbered, such 
quantity of circulating notes, in blank, of the denominations of 
one dollar, two dollars, three dollars, five dollars, ten dollars, 
twenty dollars, fifty dollars, one hundred dollars, five hundred 
dollars, and one thousand dollars, as may be required to supply, 
under this act, the associations entitled to receive the same ; 
which notes shall express upon their face that they are secured 
by United States bonds, deposited with the treasurer of the 
United States by the written or engraved signatures of the 
treasurer and register, and by the imprint of the seal of 
the treasury ; and shall also express upon their face the prom- 
ise of the association receiving the same to pay on 'demand, 
attested by the signatures of the president or vice-president and 
cashier. And the said notes shall bear such devices and such 
other statements, and shall be in such form, as the Secretary 
of the Treasury shall, by regulation, direct : Provided, That not 
more than one sixth part of the notes furnished to an association 
shall be of a less denomination than five dollars, and that after 
specie payments shall be resumed no association shall be fur- 
nished with notes of a less denomination than five dollars. 

Sec. 23. And be it further e7iac ted, That after any such asso- 
ciation shall have caused its promise to pay such notes on 
demand to be signed by the president or vice-president and 
cashier thereof, in such manner as to make them obligatory 
promissory notes, payable on demand, at its place of business, 
such association is hereby authorized to issue and circulate the 
same as money; and the same shall be received at par in all 



1864] NATIONAL BANK ACT 103 

parts of the United States in payment of taxes, excises, public 
lands, and all other dues to the United States, except for duties 
on imports ; and also for all salaries and other debts and de- 
mands owing by the United States to individuals, corporations, 
and associations within the United States, except interest on the 
public debt, and in redemption of the national currency. And 
no such association shall issue post notes or any other notes to 
circulate as money than such as are authorized by the foregoing 
provisions of this act.^ 

Sec. 24. [Worn-out and mutilated notes to be redeemed.] 
Sec. 25. [Associations to examine annually their bonds depos- 
ited, and make certificate.] 

Sec. 26. And be it further enacted, That the bonds transferred 
to and deposited with the treasurer of the United States, as 
hereinbefore provided, by any banking association for the secu- 
rity of its circulating notes, shall be held exclusively for that pur- 
pose, until such notes shall be redeemed, except as provided in 
this act ; but the comptroller of the currency shall give to any 
such banking association powers of attorney to receive and 
appropriate to its own use the interest on the bonds which it 
shall have so transferred to the treasurer ; but such powers shall 
become inoperative whenever such banking association shall 
fail to redeem its circulating notes as aforesaid. Whenever the 
market or cash value of any bonds deposited with the treasurer 
of the United States, as aforesaid, shall be reduced below the 
amount of the circulation issued for the same, the comptroller 
of the currency is hereby authorized to demand and receive the 
amount of such depreciation in other United States bonds at 
cash value, or in money, from the association receiving said bills, 
to be deposited with the treasurer of the United States as long 
as such depreciation continues. And said comptroller, upon 
the terms prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, may 
permit an exchange to be made of any of the bonds deposited 
with the treasurer by an association for other bonds of the 

1 As to State taxation of national bank currency and United States notes, see 
act of August 13, 1894. 



104 NATIONAL BANK ACT [June 3 

United States authorized by this act to be received as security 
for circulating notes, if he shall be of opinion that such an ex- 
change can be made without prejudice to the United States, and 
he may direct the return of any of said bonds to the banking 
association which transferred the same, in sums of not less than 
one thousand dollars, upon the surrender to him and the can- 
cellation of a proportionate amount of such circulating notes : 
Provided, That the remaining bonds which shall have been 
transferred by the banking association offering to surrender 
circulating notes shall be equal to the amount required for the 
circulating notes not surrendered by such banking association, 
and that the amount of bonds in the hands of the treasurer shall 
not be diminished below the amount required to be kept on 
deposit with him by this act : And provided, That there shall 
have been no failure by such association to redeem its circu- 
lating notes, and no other violation by such association of the 
provisions of this act, and that the market or cash value of the 
remaining bonds shall not be below the amount required for 
the circulation issued for the same. 

Sec, 27. [The countersigning and delivery of circulating 
notes, except as permitted by this act, unlawful] 

Sec. 28. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for 
any such association to purchase, hold, and convey real estate 
as follows : — 

First. Such as shall be necessary for its immediate accommo- 
dation in the transaction of its business. 

Second. Such as shall be mortgaged to it in good faith by 
way of security for debts previously contracted. 

Third. Such as shall be conveyed to it in satisfaction of 
debts previously contracted in the course of its dealings. 

Fourth. Such as it shall purchase at sales under judgments, 
decrees, or mortgages held by such association, or shall pur- 
chase to secure debts due to said association. 

Such association shall not purchase or hold real estate in 
any other case or for any other purpose than as specified in this 
section. Nor shall it hold the possession of any real estate 



1864] NATIONAL BANK ACT IO5 

under mortgage, or hold the title and possession of any real 
estate purchased to secure any debts due to it for a longer 
period than five years. 

Sec. 29. And be it further enacted, That the total liabilities to 
any association, of any person, or of any company, corporation, 
or firm for money borrowed, including in the liabilities of a com- 
pany or firm the liabilities of the several members thereof, shall 
at no time exceed one tenth part of the amount of the capital 
stock of such association actually paid in : Provided, That the 
discount of bona fide bills of exchange drawn against actually 
existing values, and the discount of commercial or business 
paper actually owned by the person or persons, corporation, or 
firm negotiating the same shall not be considered as money 
borrowed. 

Sec. 30. And be it further enacted, That every association 
may take, receive, reserve, and charge on any loan or discount 
made, or upon any note, bill of exchange, or other evidences of 
debt, interest at the rate allowed by the laws of the state or ter- 
ritory where the bank is located, and no more, except that where 
by the laws of any state a different rate is limited for banks of 
issue organized under state laws, the rate so limited shall be 
allowed for associations organized in any such state under this 
act. And when no rate is fixed by the laws of the state or ter- 
ritory, the bank may take, receive, reserve, or charge a rate not 
exceeding seven per centum, and such interest may be taken in 
advance, reckoning the days for which the note, bill, or other 
evidence of debt has to run. . . . [Penalty for taking greater 
interest.] . . . 

Sec. 31. And be it further ejiacted, That every association in 
the cities hereinafter named shall, at all times, have on hand, in 
lawful money of the United States, an amount equal to at least 
twenty-five per centum of the aggregate amount of its notes in 
circulation and its deposits ; and every other association shall, 
at all times, have on hand, in lawful money of the United States, 
an amount equal to at least fifteen per centum of the aggregate 
amount of its notes in circulation, and of its deposits. And 



I06 NATIONAL BANK ACT [June 3 

whenever the lawful money of any association in any of the 
cities hereinafter named shall be below the amount of twenty- 
five per centum of its circulation and deposits, and whenever 
the lawful money of any other association shall be below fifteen 
per centum of its circulation and deposits, such association 
shall not increase its liabilities by making any new loans or dis- 
counts otherwise than by discounting or purchasing bills of ex- 
change payable at sight, nor make any dividend of its profits 
until the required proportion between the aggregate amount of 
its outstanding notes of circulation and deposits and its lawful 
money of the United States shall be restored : Provided^ That 
three fifths of said fifteen per centum may consist of balances 
due to an association available for the redemption of its circu- 
lating notes from associations approved by the comptroller of 
the currency, organized under this act, in the cities of Saint 
Louis, Louisville, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, New Orleans, 
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Bos- 
ton, New York, Albany, Leavenworth, San Francisco, and Wash- 
ington City : ^ Provided, also, That clearing-house certificates, 
representing specie or lawful money specially deposited for the 
purpose of any clearing-house association, shall be deemed to 
be lawful money in the possession of any association belonging 
to such clearing-house holding and owning such certificate, and 
shall be considered to be a part of the lawful money which such 
association is required to have under the foregoing provisions of 
this section : Provided, That the cities of Charleston and Rich- 
mond may be added to the list of cities in the national associa- 
tions of which other associations may keep three fifths of their 
lawful money, whenever, in the opinion of the comptroller of the 
currency, the condition of the southern states will warrant it. 
And it shall be competent for the comptroller of the currency to 
notify any association, whose lawful money reserve as aforesaid 
shall be below the amount to be kept on hand as aforesaid, to 
make good such reserve ; and if such association shall fail for 
thirty days thereafter so to make good its reserve of lawful 

1 See act of March 3, 1887, chap. 378. 



i864] NATIONAL BANK ACT lO/ 

money of the United States, the comptroller may, with the 
concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, appoint a receiver 
to wind up the business of such association, as provided in 
this act. 

Sec. 32. And be it further enacted, That each association 
organized in any of the cities named in the foregoing section 
shall select, subject to the approval of the comptroller of the 
currency, an association in the city of New York, at which it 
will redeem its circulating notes at par. And each of such 
associations may keep one half of its lawful money reserve in 
cash deposits in the city of New York. And each association 
not organized within the cities named in the preceding section 
shall select, subject to the approval of the comptroller of the 
currency, an association in either of the cities named in the pre- 
ceding section at which it will redeem its circulating notes at 
par, and the comptroller shall give public notice of the names of 
the associations so selected at which redemptions are to be made 
by the respective associations, and of any change that may be 
made of the association at which the notes of any association 
are redeemed. If any association shall fail either to make the 
selection or to redeem its notes as aforesaid, the comptroller of 
the currency may, upon receiving satisfactory evidence thereof, 
appoint a receiver, in the manner provided for in this act, to 
wind up its affairs : Provided, That nothing in this section shall 
relieve any association from its liability to redeem its circulating 
notes at its own counter, at par, in lawful money, on demand : 
And provided, further, That every association formed or existing 
under the provisions of this act shall take and receive at par, 
for any debt or liability to said association, any and all notes or 
bills issued by any association existing under and by virtue of 
this act. 

Sec. 33. And he it further enacted, That the directors of any 
association may, semi-annually, each year, declare a dividend of 
so much of the net/" profits of the association as they shall judge 
expedient ; but each association shall, before the declaration of 
a dividend, carry one tenth part of its net/ profits of the preced- 



I08 NATIONAL BANK ACT [June 3 

ing half year to its surplus fund until the same shall amount to 
twenty per centum of its capital stock. 

Sec. 34. [Associations to report to comptroller monthly and 
quarterly.] 

Sec. 35. And be it further enacted^ That no association shall 
make any loan or discount on the security of the shares of its 
own capital stock, nor be the purchaser or holder of any such 
shares, unless such security or purchase shall be necessary to 
prevent loss upon a debt previously contracted in good faith ; 
and stock so purchased or acquired shall, within six months from 
the time of its purchase, be sold or disposed of at public or pri- 
vate sale, in default of which a receiver may be appointed to close 
up the business of the association, according to the provisions 
of this act. 

Sec. 36. And be it further enacted, That no association shall 
at any time be indebted, or in any way liable, to an amount 
exceeding the amount of its capital stock at such time actually 
paid in and remaining undiminished by losses or otherwise, 
except on the following accounts, that is to say : — 

First. On account of its notes of circulation. 

Second. On account of moneys deposited with, or collected 
by, such association. 

Third. On account of bills of exchange or drafts drawn 
against money actually on deposit to the credit of such associa- 
tion, or due thereto. 

Fourth. On account of liabilities to its stockholders for 
dividends and reserved profits. 

Sec. 37. Aiid be it further enacted, That no association shall, 
either directly or indirectly, pledge or hypothecate any of its 
notes of circulation, for the purpose of procuring money to be 
paid in on its capital stock, or to be used in its banking opera- 
tions, or otherwise ; nor shall any association use its circulating 
notes, or any part thereof, in any manner or form, to create or 
increase its capital stock. 

Sec. 38. And be it further enacted, That no association, or any 
member thereof, shall, during the time it shall continue its bank- 



i864] NATIONAL BANK ACT lOQ 

ing operations, withdraw, or permit to be withdrawn, either in 
form of dividends or otherwise, any portion of its capital. And 
if losses shall at any time have been sustained by any such asso- 
ciation equal to or exceeding its undivided profits then on hand, 
no dividend shall be made ; and no dividend shall ever be made 
by any association, while it shall continue its banking operations, 
to an amount greater than its net profits then on hand, deduct- 
ing therefrom its losses and bad debts. And all debts due to 
any association, on which interest is past due and unpaid for a 
period of six months, unless the same shall be well secured, and 
shall be in process of collection, shall be considered bad debts 
within the meaning of this act : Provided^ That nothing in this 
section shall prevent the reduction of the capital stock of the 
association under the thirteenth section of this act. 

Sec. 39. And be it further enacted^ That no association shall at 
any time pay out on loans or discounts, or in purchasing drafts 
or bills of exchange, or in payment of deposits, or in any other 
mode pay or put in circulation the notes of any bank or banking 
association which shall not, at any such time, be receivable, at 
par, on deposit and in payment of debts by the association so 
paying out or circulating such notes ; nor shall it knowingly pay 
out or put in circulation any notes issued by any bank or bank- 
ing association which at the time of such paying out or putting 
in circulation is not redeeming its circulating notes in lawful 
money of the United States. 

Sfx. 40. [List of names and residences of shareholders to be 
kept.] 

Sec. 41. Ajid be it further enacted, That the plates and special 
dies to be procured by the comptroller of the currency for the 
printing of such circulating notes shall remain under his control 
and direction, and the expenses necessarily incurred in execut- 
ing the provisions of this act respecting the procuring of such 
notes, and all other expenses of the bureau, shall be paid out of 
the proceeds of the taxes or duties now or hereafter to be assessed 
on the circulation, and collected from associations organized 
under this act. And in lieu of all existing taxes, every asso- 



no NATIONAL BANK ACT [Junes 

ciation shall pay to the treasurer of the United States, in the 
months of January and July, a duty of one half of one per 
centum each half year from and after the first day of January, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-four, upon the average amount of 
its notes in circulation, and a duty of one quarter of one per 
centum each half year upon the average amount of its deposits, 
and a duty of one quarter of one per centum each half year, as 
aforesaid, on the average amount of its capital stock beyond 
the amount invested in United States bonds ; and in case of 
default in the payment thereof by any association, the duties 
aforesaid may be collected in the manner provided for the col- 
lection of United States duties of other corporations, or the 
treasurer may reserve the amount of said duties out of the 
interest, as it may become due, on the bonds deposited with 
him by such defaulting association. . . . [Return of circula- 
tion, &c., to be made.] . . . Provided, That nothing in this 
act shall be construed to prevent all the shares in any of the 
said associations, held by any person or body corporate, from 
being included in the valuation of the personal property of such 
person or corporation in the assessment of taxes imposed by or 
under state authority at the place where such bank is located, 
and not elsewhere,^ but not at a greater rate than is assessed 
upon other moneyed capital in the hands of individual citizens 
of such state : Provided, fui-ther, That the tax so imposed under 
the laws of any state upon the shares of any of the associations 
authorized by this act shall not exceed the rate imposed upon 
the shares in any of the banks organized under authority of the 
state where such association is located : Provided, also, That 
nothing in this act shall exempt the real estate of associations 
from either state, county, or municipal taxes to the same extent, 
according to its value, as other real estate is taxed. 

[Sections 42 and 43. How associations may be closed.] 
Sec. 44. And be it further enacted, That any bank incorporated 
by special law, or any banking institution organized under a gen- 
eral law of any state, may, by authority of this act, become a 

1 See act of February lo, 1868. 



i864] NATIONAL BANK ACT III 

national association under its provisions, by the name prescribed 
in its organization certificate ; and in such case the articles of 
association and the organization certificate required by this act 
may be executed by a majority of the directors of the bank or 
banking institution ; and said certificate shall declare that the 
owners of two thirds of the capital stock have authorized the 
directors to make such certificate and to change and convert 
the said bank or banking institution into a national association 
under this act. And a majority of the directors, after executing 
said articles of association and organization certificate, shall have 
power to execute all other papers, and to do whatever may be 
required to make its organization perfect and complete as a 
national association. The shares of any such bank may con- 
tinue to be for the same amount each as they were before said 
conversion, and the directors aforesaid may be the directors of 
the association until others are elected or appointed in accord- 
ance with the provisions of this act ; and any state bank which 
is a stockholder in any other bank, by authority of state laws, 
may continue to hold its stock, although either bank, or both, 
may be organized under and have accepted the provisions of 
this act. When the comptroller shall give to such association a 
certificate, under his hand and official seal, that the provisions 
of this act have been complied with, and that it is authorized to 
commence the business of banking under it, the association 
shall have the same powers and privileges, and shall be subject 
to the same duties, responsibilities, and rules, in all respects as 
are prescribed in this act for other associations organized under 
it, and shall be held and regarded as an association under this 
act : Provided, however. That no such association shall have a 
less capital than the amount prescribed for banking associations 
under this act.^ 

Sec. 45. And be it further enacted, That all associations under 

this act, when designated for that purpose by the Secretary of 

the Treasury, shall be depositaries of public money, except 

receipts from customs, under such regulations as may be pre- 

1 See act of February 14, 1880. 



112 NATIONAL BANK ACT [Junes 

scribed by the Secretary ; and they may also be employed as 
financial agents of the government ; and they shall perform all 
such reasonable duties, as depositaries of public moneys and 
financial agents of the government, as may be required of them. 
And the Secretary of the Treasury shall require of the asso- 
ciations thus designated satisfactory security, by the deposit of 
United States bonds and otherwise, for the safe-keeping and 
prompt payment of the public money deposited with them, and 
for the faithful performance of their duties as financial agents 
of the government : Provided, That every association which 
shall be selected and designated as receiver or depositary of the 
public money shall take and receive at par all of the national 
currency bills, by whatever association issued, which have been 
paid in to the government for internal revenue, or for loans or 
stocks. 

Sec. 46. [If associations fail to redeem their circulation, the 
notes may be protested, &c.] 

[Sections 47-51. Procedure in case of associations failing 
to redeem notes, &c.] 

Sec. 52. [Transfers, assignments, &c., in contemplation of 
insolvency, &c., to be void.] 

Sec. 53. [Penalty upon directors for violations of this act.] 

Sec. 54. [Comptroller may appoint person to examine the 
affairs of any association.] 

[Sections 55-57. Penalty and procedure in case of embezzle- 
ment, &c.] 

[Sections 58-60. Penalties for mutilating notes to make them 
unfit for reissue, for counterfeiting notes, for engraving plates, for 
forging notes, &c.] 

Sec. 61. [Comptroller to report annually to congress.] 

Sec. 62. [Repeal of act of February 25, 1863.] 

Sec. 63. A?id be it further enacted, That persons holding 
stock as executors, administrators, guardians, and trustees, shall 
not be personally subject to any liabilities as stockholders ; but 
the estates and funds in their hands shall be liable in like man- 
ner and to the same extent as the testator, intestate, ward, or 



1864] REPEAL OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW I13 

person interested in said trust-funds would be if they were re- 
spectively living and competent to act and hold the stock in 
their own names. 

Sec. 64. And be it further enacted, That congress may at any 
time amend, alter, or repeal this act. 

Approved, June 3, 1864. 



No. 38. Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law 

June 28, 1864 

The agitation for a repeal of the fugitive slave law of 1850 may be said to 
have begun with the passage of the act. Bills and resolutions relating to the 
subject were frequently introduced in Congress, but for the most part failed 
of consideration. A repeal bill was considered by the Senate April 19, 1864, 
but not further acted upon. June 13, however, a bill in the terms of the act 
following, originally introduced by Spalding of Ohio, passed the House by a 
vote of 86 to 60. A proposal in the Senate to repeal only the act of 1850 was 
rejected, the vote being 17 to 22, and June 22 the House bill passed by a vote 
of 27 to 12. 

References. — Text in U.S. Siaiules at Large, XIII, 200. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., 1st Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The principal propositions for repeal are collected in McPherson, 
Rebellion, 234-237. For the report of the Senate committee, February 29, see 
Senate Report 24, 38th Cong., 1st Sess. On the general subject of fugitive 
slave laws see McDougall, Fugitive Slaves. 

An Act to repeal the Fugitive Slave Act of eighteen hmidred and fifty , 
and all Acts and Farts of Acts for the Rendition of Fugitive Slaves. 

Be it efiacted . . ., That sections three and four of an act 
entitled " An act respecting fugitives from justice and persons 
escaping from the service of their masters," approved February 
twelve, seventeen hundred and ninety-three, and an act entitled 
"An act to amend, and supplementary to, the act entitled 'An 
act respecting fugitives from justice and persons escaping from 
the service of their masters,' passed February twelve, seventeen 
hundred and ninety-three," passed September [eighteen], eigh- 
teen hundred and fifty, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Approved, June 28, 1864. 
I 



114 INTERCOURSE WITH INSURRECTIONARY STATES [July 2 

No. 39. Intercourse with Insurrectionary- 
States 

July 2, 1864 

A BILL further to regulate commercial intercourse with the insurrectionary 
States was introduced in the Senate, April 14, 1864, by Zachariah Chandler 
of Michigan, by unanimous consent, and referred to the Committee on Com- 
merce. The bill was reported with amendments May 28, and passed the 
Senate, June 28, by a vote of 27 to 13. The House passed the bill with further 
amendments July 2, the concurrence of the Senate being given the same day. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, 375-378. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., ist Sess., and 
the Cong. Globe. The text of the bill as passed by the Senate is in the Globe 
for June 28. 

An Act in addition to the several Acts concernitig Commercial In- 
tercourse between loyal and insurrectionary States, and to provide 
for the Collection of captured and abandoned Property, and the 
Prevention of Frauds in States declared in Insurrection. 

Be it enacted . . ., That sales of captured and abandoned 
property under the act approved March twelve, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-three, may be made at such places, in states 
declared in insurrection, as may be designated by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, as well as at other places now authorized by 
said act. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That, in addition to the 
captured and abandoned property to be received, collected, and 
disposed of, as provided in said act, the said agents shall take 
charge of and lease, for periods not exceeding twelve months, 
the abandoned lands, houses, and tenements within the districts 
therein named, and shall also provide, in such leases or other- 
wise, for the employment and general welfare of all persons 
within the lines of national military occupation within said in- 
surrectionary states formerly held as slaves, who are or shall 
become free. Property, real or personal, shall be regarded as 
abandoned when the lawful owner thereof shall be voluntarily 



i864] INTERCOURSE WITH INSURRECTIONARY STATES 1 1 5 

absent therefrom, and engaged, either in arms or otherwise, in 
aiding or encouraging the rebellion. 

Sec. 3. [Moneys from leases and sales to be paid into the 
treasury. Act of March 12, 1863, section i, extended to include 
property mentioned in acts of July 13, 1861, and July 17, 1862.] 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the prohibitions and 
provisions of the act approved July thirteen, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-one, and of the acts amendatory or supplementary 
thereto, shall apply to all commercial intercourse by and be- 
tween persons residing or being within districts within the pres- 
ent or future lines of national military occupation in the states 
or parts of states declared in insurrection, whether with each 
other or with persons residing or being within districts declared 
in insurrection and not within those lines ; and that all persons 
within the United States, not native or naturalized citizens 
thereof, shall be subject to the same prohibitions, in all commer- 
cial intercourse with inhabitants of states or parts of states de- 
clared in insurrection, as citizens of loyal states are subject to 
under the said act or acts. 

Sec. 5. And be it fu7-ther enacted. That whenever any part of 
a loyal state shall be under the control of insurgents, or shall 
be in dangerous proximity to places under their control, all com- 
mercial intercourse therein and therewith shall be subject to 
the same prohibitions and conditions as are created by the said 
acts, as to such intercourse between loyal and insurrectionary 
states, for such time and to such extent as shall from time to 
time become necessary to protect the public interests, and be 
directed by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approval of 
the President. 

Sec. 6. [Mode of distribution of fines, forfeitures, &c. Repeal 
of parts of acts of May 20, 1862, section 5, and March 12, 1863, 
section 4.] 

Sec. 7. And be it ftu-ther enacted, That no property seized or 
taken upon any of the inland waters of the United States by the 
naval forces thereof, shall be regarded as maritime prize ; but 
all property so seized or taken shall be promptly dehvered to 



Il6 INTERCOURSE WITH INSURRECTIONARY STATES [July 2 

the proper officers of the courts, or as provided in this act and 
in the said act approved March twelve, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacied, That it shall be lawful for 
the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approval of the Presi- 
dent, to authorize agents to purchase for the United States any 
products of states declared in insurrection, at such places therein 
as shall be designated by him, at such prices as shall be agreed 
on with the seller, not exceeding the market value thereof at the 
place of delivery, nor exceeding three fourths of the market- 
value thereof in the city of New York at the latest quotations 
known to the agent purchasing : Provided, That no part of the 
purchase-money for any products so purchased shall be paid, or 
agreed to be paid, out of any other fund than that arising from 
property sold as captured or abandoned, or purchased and sold 
under the provisions of this act. All property so purchased 
shall be forwarded for sale at such place or places as shall be 
designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and the moneys 
arising therefrom, after payment of the purchase-money and the 
other expenses connected therewith, shall be paid into the treas- 
ury of the United States. . . . 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That so much of section five 
of the act of thirteenth of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, 
aforesaid, as authorizes the President, in his discretion, to license 
or permit commercial relations in any state or section the inhab- 
itants of which are declared in a state of insurrection, is hereby 
repealed, except so far as may be necessary to authorize supply- 
ing the necessities of loyal persons residing in insurrectionary 
states, within the lines of actual occupation by the military forces 
of the United States, as indicated by published order of the com- 
manding general of the department or district so occupied ; and, 
also, except so far as may be necessary to authorize persons 
residing within such lines to bring or send to market in the loyal 
states any products which they shall have produced with their 
own labor or the labor of freedmen, or others employed anfl 
paid by them, pursuant to rules relating thereto, which may be 



1864] ENROLMENT ACT ^ II7 

established under proper authority. And no goods, wares, or 
merchandise shall be taken into a state declared in insurrection, 
or transported therein, except to and from such places and to 
such monthly amounts as shall have been previously agreed 
upon in writing by the commanding general of the department 
in which such places are situated and an officer designated by 
the Secretary of the Treasury for that purpose. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all officers and pri- 
vates of the regular and volunteer forces of the United States, 
and all officers, sailors, and marines in the naval service, are 
hereby prohibited from buying or selling, trading, or in any way 
dealing in the kind or description of property mentioned in this 
act, and the act to which this is in addition, whereby to receive 
or expect any profit, benefit, or advantage to himself, or any 
other person, directly or indirectly connected with him ; and it 
shall be the duty of such officer, private, sailor, or marine, wherj 
such property shall come into his possession or custody, or 
within his control, to give notice thereof to some agent, ap- 
pointed by virtue of this act, and to turn the same over to such 
agent without delay : . , . [penalty for violation, &c.] 

Sec. II. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury, with the approval of the President, shall make such 
rules and regulations as are necessary to secure the proper and 
economical execution of the provisions of this act, and shall 
defray all expenses of such execution from the proceeds of fees 
imposed by said rules and regulations, of sales of captured and 
abandoned property, and of sales hereinbefore authorized. 

Approved, July 2, 1864. 



No. 40. Enrolment Act 

July 4, 1864 

In a communication of June 7, 1864, the Secretary of War urged the re- 
peal of the $300 commutation clause of the Enrolment Act of March 3, 1863, 
on the ground that under it the draft brought money instead of men. A bill 



Il8 ENROLMENT ACT [July 4 

to repeal the clause was reported by the Senate Committee on Military Affairs 
the next day, and on the 23d, by a vote of 24 to 7, the bill in amended form 
passed. In the House a bill to amend the act of 1863 was reported June 21. 
A motion to reject the bill resulting in a tie, the speaker voted in the negative. 
The first section, repealing the commutation clause, was stricken out, the vote 
being lOO to 50. On the 28th, after the rejection of numerous amendments 
and substitutes, the bill passed, the vote being 82 to 77, 23 not voting. 
Throughout the proceedings in the House there was strong opposition. The 
Senate incorporated its own bill of June 23, together with an amendment 
offered by Sherman providing for an income tax to pay the cost of bounties 
and drafts. The bill thus amended passed the Senate, June 29, by a vote of 
27 to 7. The next day, on motion of Thaddeus Stevens, the House returned 
the bill to the Senate on the ground that the amendment proposing an in- 
come tax was unconstitutional, and a violation of the privileges of the House. 
The Senate struck out the amendment, but refused to recede from a fur- 
ther amendment regarding the enlistment of negroes. The bill went to a con- 
ference committee, whose report, July 2, was rejected by the Senate by a vote 
of 16 to 18, A second conference report was agreed to in the Senate by a 
vote of 18 to 17, and in the House by a vote of 66 to 55. July 18 a call for 
500,000 men was issued under the act. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIH, 379, 380. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The letter of the Secretary of War is in McPherson, Rebellion, 
263, note. Extracts from discussions on the constitutionality of the act are 
given in McPherson, ibid., 272-274. 

An Act further to regulate and provide for the enrolling and call- 
ing out the JVational Forces, and for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the President of the United States 
may, at his discretion, at any time hereafter call for any number of 
men as volunteers for the respective terms of one, two, and three 
years for military service ; and any such volunteer, or, in case of 
draft, as hereinafter provided, any substitute, shall be credited to 
the town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, 
or of a county not so subdivided, towards the quota of which 
he may have volunteered or engaged as a substitute ; and every 
volunteer who is accepted and mustered into the service for a 
term of one year, unless sooner discharged, shall receive, and 
be paid by the United States, a bounty of one hundred dollars ; 
and if for a term of two years, unless sooner discharged, a 



i864] ENROLMENT ACT I19 

bounty of two hundred dollars ; and if for a term of three years, 
unless sooner discharged, a bounty of three hundred dollars ; 
one third of which bounty shall be paid to the soldier at the time 
of his being mustered into the service, one third at the expira- 
tion of one half of his term of service, and one third at the 
expiration of his term of service ; and in case of his death while 
in service, the residue of his bounty unpaid shall be paid to his 
widow, if he shall have left a widow ; if not, to his children, or 
if there be none, to his mother, if she be a widow. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That in case the quota, or 
any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, 
or election district, or of any county not so subdivided, shall 
not be filled within the space of fifty days after such call, then 
the President shall immediately order a draft for one year to fill 
such quota, or any part thereof, which may be unfilled ; and in 
case of any such draft no payment of money shall be accepted 
or received by the government as commutation to release any 
enrolled or drafted man from personal obligation to perform 
military service. 

Sec. 3. And be it further e7iacted, That it shall be lawful for 
the executive of any of the states to send recruiting agents into 
any of the states declared to be in rebellion, except the states of 
Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana, to recruit volunteers under 
any call under the provisions of this act, who shall be credited 
to the state, and to the respective subdivisions thereof, which 
may procure the enlistment. 

Sec. 4. And be it further efiacted, That drafted men, substi- 
tutes, and volunteers, when mustered in, shall be organized in, or 
assigned to, regiments, batteries, or other organizations of their 
own states, and, as far as practicable, shall, when assigned, be per- 
mitted to select their own regiments, batteries, or other organiza- 
tions from among those of their respective states which at the time 
of assignment may not be filled to their maximum number. 

Sec. 6. A7id be it further enacted, That section three of an act 
entitled " An act to amend an act entitled ' An act for enrolling 



I20 ACT TO ENCOURAGE IMMIGRATION [July 4 

and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,' " 
approved February twenty-four, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
four, be, and the same is hereby, amended, so as to authorize 
and direct district provost-marshals, under the direction of the 
provost-marshal general, to make a draft for one hundred per 
centum in addition to the number required to fill the quota of 
any district as provided by said section. 

Sec. 10. And be if further enacted, That nothing contained in 
this act shall be construed to alter, or in any way affect, the 
provisions of the seventeenth section of an act approved Febru- 
ary twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled " An 
act to amend an act entitled ' An act for enrolling and calling 
out the national forces, and for other purposes,' " approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. 

Sec. II. And be it further enacted, That nothing contained in 
this act, shall be construed to alter or change the provisions of 
existing laws relative to permitting persons liable to military 
service to furnish substitutes. 

Approved, July 4, 1864. 



No. 41. Act to encourage Immigration 

July 4, 1864 

A BILL to encourage immigration was reported in the House, April 16, 
1864, by Elihu B. Washburne of Illinois, from the select committee on that 
subject. The bill passed the House April 21, and the Senate with amend- 
ments June 27. The House disagreed to the Senate amendments, and the 
bill went to a conference committee, whose report was accepted by the two 
houses July 2. 

References. — 7>jr/ in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, 385-387. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., ist Sess.,andthe 
Cong, Globe. Washburne's report of April 16 is House Report ^6 ; see also 
House Report 42, 37th Cong., 3d Sess. See Sherman, Recollections, II, 1081- 
1083. 



i864] ACT TO ENCOURAGE IMMIGRATION 121 

Afi Act to eiuourage Inwiigration. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the President of the United States 
is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to appoint a commissioner of immigration, who shall be 
subject to the direction of the Department of State. . , . 

Sec. 2, And be it further enacted, That all contracts that shall 
be made by emigrants to the United States in foreign countries, 
in conformity to regulations that may be established by the said 
commissioner, whereby emigrants shall pledge the wages of their 
labor for a term not exceeding twelve months, to repay the 
expenses of their emigration, shall be held to be valid in law, 
and may be enforced in the courts of the United States, or of 
the several states and territories ; and such advances, if so 
stipulated in the contract, and the contract be recorded in the 
recorder's office in the county where the emigrant shall settle, 
shall operate as a lien upon any land thereafter acquired by the 
emigrant, whether under the homestead law when the title is 
consummated, or on property otherwise acquired until liquidated 
by the emigrant ; but nothing herein contained shall be deemed 
to authorize any contract contravening the Constitution of the 
United States, or creating in any way the relation of slavery or 
servitude. 

Sec. 3. Ajid be it further enacted, That no emigrant to the 
United States who shall arrive after the passage of this act shall 
be compulsively enrolled for military service during the existing 
insurrection, unless such emigrant shall voluntarily renounce 
under oath his allegiance to the country of his birth, and declare 
his intention to become a citizen of the United States. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That there shall be estab- 
lished in the city of New York an office to be known as the 
United States Emigrant Office ; and there shall be appointed, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an officer for 
said city, to be known as superintendent of immigration . . . ; 
and such superintendent shall, under the direction of the com- 
missioner of immigration, make contracts with the different rail- 



122 PROCLAMATION REGARDING RECONSTRUCTION [July 8 

roads and transportation companies of the United States for 
transportation tickets, to be furnished to such immigrants, and 
to be paid for by them, and shall, under such rules as may be 
prescribed by the commissioner of immigration, protect such 
immigrants from imposition and fraud, and shall furnish them 
such information and facilities as will enable them to proceed in 
the cheapest and most expeditious manner to the place of their 
destination. And such superintendent of immigration shall per- 
form such other duties as may be prescribed by the commis- 
sioner of immigration : Provided, That the duties hereby imposed 
upon the superintendent in the city of New York shall not be 
held to effect the powers and duties of the commissioner of 
immigration of the State of New York ; and it shall be the d\ity 
of said superintendent in the city of New York to see that the 
provisions of the act commonly known as the passenger act are 
strictly complied with, and all breaches thereof punished accord- 
ing to law. 

******* 

Approved, July 4, 1864. 



No. 42. Proclamation regarding Reconstruction 

July 8, 1864 

December 15, 1863, on motion of Henry Winter Davis of Maryland, so 
much of Lincoln's message of December 8 as related " to the duty of the 
United States to guaranty a republican form of government to the States 
in which the governments recognized by the United States have been 
abrogated or overthrown " was referred, by a vote of 91 to 80, to a select com- 
mittee of the House, with instructions to report bills to carry into execution 
the said guarantee. A bill was reported by the committee February 15, 1864, 
and passed the House May 4 by a vote of 74 to 66. July i the Senate, by a 
vote of 30 to 13, adopted a substitute, proposed by B. Gratz Brown of Mis- 
souri, declaring that when the inhabitants of any State had been declared in 
insurrection by proclamation under the act of July 13, 1861, they should be 
" incapable of casting any vote for electors of President or Vice President of 
the United States, or of electing Senators and Representatives in Congress, 



1864] PROCLAMATION REGARDING RECONSTRUCTION 1 23 

until said insurrection in said State is suppressed or abandoned and said in- 
habitants have returned to their obedience to the Government of the United 
States, nor until such return to obedience shall be declared by proclamation 
of the President, issued by virtue of an act of Congress, hereafter to be 
passed, authorizing the same." The House refused to concur, and July 2 
the Senate, by a vote of 18 to 14, receded, and the House bill passed. Lin- 
coln was opposed to the bill and withheld his approval, but immediately upon 
the adjournment of Congress issued the following proclamation with the bill 
attached. The bill was the first formal plan of reconstruction agreed upon by 
Congress. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, Appendix, xiv-xvii. 
For the proceedings see the Hotise ajid Senate Jotirnah, 3Sth Cong., ist Sess,, 
and the Cong. Globe. On Lincoln's plan of reconstruction see Cox, Three 
Decades, chap. 17. On the bill see Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, IX, chap. 5; 
E. B. Scott, Reconstruction during the Civil War. 

By the President of the United States. 
A PROCLAMATION. 

(The proclamation recites the passage of the bill annexed, and its presenta- 
tion to the President " less than one hour before the sine die adjournment of 
said session," and continues:) 

And whereas the said bill contains, among other things, a plan 
for restoring the states in rebellion to their proper practical 
relation in the Union, which plan expresses the sense of con- 
gress upon that subject, and which plan it is now thought fit to 
lay before the people for their consideration : 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United 
States, do proclaim, declare, and make known, that, while I am 
(as I was in December last, when by proclamation I propounded 
a plan for restoration) unprepared by a formal approval of this 
bill, to be inflexibly committed to any single plan of restoration ; 
and, while I am also unprepared to declare that the free state 
constitutions and governments already adopted and installed in 
Arkansas and Louisiana shall be set aside and held for nought, 
thereby repelling and discouraging the loyal citizens who have 
set up the same as to further effort, or to declare a constitutional 
competency in congress to abolish slavery in states, but am at 



124 PROCLAMATION REGARDING RECONSTRUCTION [July 8 

the same time sincerely hoping and expecting that a constitu- 
tional amendment abolishing slavery throughout the nation may 
be adopted, nevertheless I am fully satisfied with the system for 
restoration contained in the bill as one very proper plan for the 
loyal people of any state choosing to adopt it, and that I am, and 
at all times shall be, prepared to give the executive aid and 
assistance to any such people, so soon as the military resistance 
to the United States shall have been suppressed in any such 
state, and the people thereof shall have sufficiently returned to 
their obedience to the constitution and the laws of the United 
States, in which cases military governors will be appointed, with 
directions to proceed according to the bill. 



A Bill to guarantee to certain States whose Governments have been usurped or 
overthrown a Republican Form of Government. 

Be it enacted . . ., That in the states declared in rebellion against the 
United States, the President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, appoint for each a provisional governor, . . . who shall be charged 
with the civil administration of such state until a state government therein 
shall be recognized as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 2. Attd be it further enacted. That so soon as the military resistance to 
the United States shall have been suppressed in any such state, and the people 
thereof shall have sufficiently returned to their obedience to the constitution 
and the laws of the United States, the provisional governor shall direct the 
marshal of the United States, as speedily as may be, to name a sufficient 
number of deputies, and to enroll all white male citizens of the United States, 
resident in the state in their respective counties, and to request each one to 
take the oath to support the constitution of the United States, and in his 
enrolment to designate those who take and those who refuse to take that 
oath, which rolls shall be forthwith returned to the provisional governor; and 
if the persons taking that oath shall amount to a majority of the persons 
enrolled in the state, he shall, by proclamation, invite the loyal people of the 
state to elect delegates to a convention charged to declare the will of the 
people of the state relative to the reestablishment of a state government subject 
to, and in conformity with, the constitution of the United States. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That the convention shall consist of as 
many members as both houses of the last constitutional state legislature, ap- 
portioned by the provisional governor among the counties, parishes, or districts 
of the state, in proportion to the white population, returned as electors, by the 



1864] TROCLAMATION REGARDING RECONSTRUCTION 12$ 

marshal, in compliance with the provisions of this act. The provisional gov- 
ernor shall, by proclamation, declare the number of delegates to be elected 
by each county, parish, or election district; name a day of election not less 
than thirty days thereafter; designate the places of voting in each county, 
parish, or district, conforming as nearly as may be convenient to the places 
used in the state elections next preceding the rebellion; appoint one or more 
commissioners to hold the election at each place of voting, and provide an 
adequate force to keep the peace during the election. 

Sec. 4. And he it further enacted, That the delegates shall be elected by 
the loyal white male citizens of the United States of the age of twenty-one 
years, and resident at the time in the county, parish, or district in which they 
shall offer to vote, and enrolled as aforesaid, or absent in the military service 
of the United States, and who shall take and subscribe the oath of allegiance 
to the United States in the form contained in the act of congress of July two, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-two; and all such citizens of the United States 
who are in the military service of the United States shall vote at the head- 
quarters of their respective commands, under such regulations as may be pre- 
scribed by the provisional governor for the taking and return of their votes; 
but no person who has held or exercised any office, civil or military, state or 
confederate, under the rebel usurpation, or who has voluntarily borne arms 
against the United States, shall vote, or be eligible to be elected as delegate, 
at such election. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, or either of 
them, shall hold the election in conformity with this act, and, so far as may be 
consistent therewith, shall proceed in the manner used in the state prior to the 
rebellion. The oath of allegiance shall be taken and subscribed on the poll- 
book by every voter in the form above prescribed, but every person known 
by, or proved to, the commissioners to have held or exercised any ofifice, civil 
or military, state or confederate, under the rebel usurpation, or to have 
voluntarily borne arms against the United States, shall be excluded, though 
he offer to take the oath; and in case any person who shall have borne arms 
against the United States shall offer to vote he shall be deemed to have borne 
arms voluntarily unless he shall prove the contrary by the testimony of a 
qualified voter. The poll-book, showing the name and oath of each voter, 
shall be returned to the provisional governor by the commissioners of election 
or the one acting, and the provisional governor shall canvass such returns, 
and declare the person having the highest number of votes elected. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted. That the provisional governor shall, by 
proclamation, convene the delegates elected as aforesaid, at the capital of the 
state, on a day not more than three months after the election, giving at least 
thirty days' notice of such day. In case the said capital shall in his judgment 
be unfit, he shall in his proclamation appoint another place. He shall preside 



126 PROCLAMATION REGARDING RECONSTRUCTION [July 8 

over the deliberations of the convention, and administer to each delegate, 
before taking his seat in the convention, the oath of allegiance to the United 
States in the form above prescribed. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That the convention shall declare, on 
behalf of the people of the state, their submission to the constitution and laws 
of the United States, and shall adopt the following provisions, hereby pre- 
scribed by the United States in the execution of the constitutional duty to 
guarantee a republican form of government to every state, and incorporate 
them in the constitution of the state, that is to say : 

First. No person who has held or exercised any office, civil or military, 
except offices merely ministerial, and military offices below the grade of colo- 
nel, state or confederate, under the usurping power, shall vote for or be a 
member of the legislature, or governor. 

Second. Involuntary servitude is forever prohibited, and the freedom of all 
persons is guaranteed in said state. 

Third. No debt, state or confederate, created by or under the sanction of 
the usurping power, shall be recognized or paid by the state. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That when the convention shall have 
adopted those provisions, it shall proceed to reestablish a republican form of 
government, and ordain a constitution containing those provisions, which, 
when adopted, the convention shall by ordinance provide for submitting to 
the people of the state, entitled to vote under this law, at an election to be 
held in the manner prescribed by the act for the election of delegates; but 
at a time and place named by the convention, at which election the said 
electors, and none others, shall vote directly for or against such constitution 
and form of state government, and the returns of said election shall be made 
to the provisional governor, who shall canvass the same in the presence of the 
electors, and if a majority of the votes cast shall be for the constitution and 
form of government, he shall certify the same, with a copy thereof, to the 
President of the United States, who, after obtaining the assent of congress, 
shall, by proclamation, recognize the government so established, and none 
other, as the constitutional government of the state, and from the date of 
such recognition, and not before, Senators and Representatives, and electors 
for President and Vice-President may be elected in such state, according to 
the laws of the state and of the United States. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted. That if the convention shall refuse to 
reestablish the state government on the conditions aforesaid, the provisional 
governor shall declare it dissolved; but it shall be the duty of the President, 
whenever he shall have reason to believe that a sufficient number of the 
people of the state entitled to vote under this act, in number not less than a 
majority of those enrolled, as aforesaid, are willing to reestablish a state gov- 
ernment on the conditions aforesaid, to direct the provisional governor to 



1864] PROCLAMATION REGARDING RECONSTRUCTION 12/ 

order another election of delegates to a convention for the purpose and in 
the manner prescribed in this act, and to proceed in all respects as herein- 
before provided, either to dissolve the convention, or to certify the state 
government reestablished by it to the President. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted^ That, until the United States shall have 
recognized a republican form of state government, the provisional governor in 
each of said states shall see that this act, and the laws of the United States, 
and the laws of the state in force when the state government was overthrown 
by the rebellion, are faithfully executed within the state; but no law or usage 
whereby any person was heretofore held in involuntary servitude shall be 
recognized or enforced by any court or officer in such state, and the laws for 
the trial and punishment of white persons shall extend to all persons, and 
jurors shall have the qualifications of voters under this law for delegates to 
the convention. The President shall appoint such officers provided for by the 
laws of the state when its government was overthrown as he may find neces- 
sary to the civil administration of the state, all which officers shall be entitled 
to receive the fees and emoluments provided by the state laws for such officers. 

Sec. II, And be it further enacted. That until the recognition of a state 
government as aforesaid, the provisional governor shall, under such regulations 
as he may prescribe, cause to be assessed, levied, and collected, for the year 
eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and every year thereafter, the taxes provided 
by the laws of such state to be levied during the fiscal year preceding the 
overthrow of the state government thereof, in the manner prescribed by the 
laws of the state, as nearly as may be; and the officers appointed, as aforesaid, 
are vested with all powers of levying and collecting such taxes, by distress or 
sale, as were vested in any officers or tribunal of the state government afore- 
said for those purposes. The proceeds of such taxes shall be accounted for 
to the provisional governor, and be by him applied to the expenses of the 
administration of the laws in such state, subject to the direction of the Presi- 
dent, and the surplus shall be deposited in the treasury of the United States 
to the credit of such state, to be paid to the state upon an appropriation 
therefor, to be made when a republican form of government shall be recog- 
nized therein by the United States. 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, 'WizS. all persons held to involuntary 
servitude or labor in the states aforesaid are hereby emancipated and dis- 
charged therefrom, and they and their posterity shall be forever free. And 
if any such persons or their posterity shall be restrained of liberty, under pre- 
tence of any claim to such service or labor, the courts of the United States 
shall, on habeas corpus, discharge them. 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That if any person declared free by this 
act, or any law of the United States, or any proclamation of the President, be 
restrained of liberty, with intent to be held in or reduced to involuntary servi- 



128 ELECTORAL COUNT [Feb. 8 

tude or labor, the person convicted before a court of competent jurisdiction 
of such act shall be punished by fine of not less than fifteen hundred dollars, 
and be imprisoned not less than five nor more than twenty years. 

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall hereafter' 
hold or exercise any office, civil or military, except offices merely ministerial, 
and military offices below the grade of colonel, in the rebel service, state or 
confederate, is hereby declared not to be a citizen of the United States. 



No. 43. Electoral Count 

February 8, 1865 

A JOINT resolution declaring certain States not eligible to representation 
in the electoral college was presented in the House, December 19, 1S64, by 
Wilson of Iowa, and passed the House January 30, 1865. The resolution 
was reported in the Senate February i, with an amendment to the preamble. 
An amendment to strike out Louisiana from the list of States named was 
rejected, and on the 4th, by a vote of 29 to 10, the amended resolution passed 
the Senate. The House concurred in the Senate amendment. In his message 
of approval, February 8, Lincoln disclaimed " all right of the Executive to 
interfere in any way in the matter of canvassing or counting electoral votes," 
and further disclaimed " that by signing said resolution he has expressed any 
opinion on the recitals of the preamble or any judgment of his own upon the 
subject of the resolution." 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, 567, 568. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. 

Joifit Resolution declaring certain States not entitled to Representa- 
tion iti the Electoral College. 

Whereas the inhabitants and local authorities of the States 
of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Ten- 
nessee rebelled against the government of the United States, 
and were in such condition on the eighth day of November, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-four, that no valid election for elec- 
tors of President and Vice-President of the United States, accord- 



l86s] FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 1 29 

ing to the constitution and laws thereof, was held therein on 
said day : Therefore, 

Be it resolved . . ., That the states mentioned in the preaml^le 
to this joint resolution are not entitled to representation in the 
electoral college for the choice of President and Vice-President 
of the United States, for the term of office commencing on the 
fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-five ; and no 
electoral votes shall be received or counted from said states 
concerning the choice of President and Vice-President for said 
term of office. 

Approved, February 8, 1865. 



No. 44. Freedmen's Bureau 

March 3, 1865 

A BILL " to establish a bureau of emancipation " was reported in the House, 
December 22, 1863, by Eliot of Massachusetts, from the Select Committee on 
Emancipation, and recommitted. The bill was reported with amendments 
January 13, 1864, and March i passed the House by a vote of 69 to 67. In 
the Senate the bill was referred to the Select Committee on Slavery and 
Freedmen, of which Sumner was chairman. A bill to establish a bureau of 
freedmen was reported from the committee April 12. May 25 the committee 
reported the House bill with a substitute amendment, and the bill thus 
amended passed the Senate June 29 by a vote of 21 tog. The select com- 
mittee of the House recommended that the amendments of the Senate be 
disagreed to. Further action was postponed until December. December 20 
a conference committee was appointed. The report of the committee was 
accepted by the House, February 9, 1865, by a vote of 64 to 62, 56 not vot- 
ing, but rejected by the Senate on the 22d by a vote of 14 to 24. March 3 
the report of a second conference committee was agreed to by both houses. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XHI, 507-509. For the 
proceedings see the House ami Senate Journals, 38th Cong., ist and 2d Sess., 
and the Cofig. Globe. On the work of the bureau see Senate Exec. Doc. 28, 
38th Cong., 2d Sess.; House Exec. Docs. 11, yo, and 120, 39th Cong., ist Sess.; 
House Exec. Doc. 7, 39th Cong., 2d Sess.; House Report 30, 40th Cong., 2d 
Sess.; House Exec. Doc. 32^, ibid.; House Exec, Doc. 142, 41st Cong, 2I 
K 



130 FREEDMEN'S BUREAU [March 3 

Sess. ; House Misc. Doc. 8y, 420! Cong., 3d Sess.; House Exec. Doc. 10, 
43d Cong., 1st Sess.; House Exec. Doc. 144, 44th Cong., ist Sess. On the 
condition of freedmen see Senate Exec. Doc. 5^, and Senate Report 2^, 38th 
Cong., 1st Sess.; House Exec. Doc. 118, 39th Cong., ist Sess. Southern State 
legislation respecting freedmen is summarized in McPherson, Reconstruction, 
29-44. See also Cox, Three Decades, chap. 25. 

A?i Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and 
Refugees. 

Be it enacted . . ., That there is hereby established in the 
War Department, to continue during the present war of rebel- 
Uon, and for one year thereafter, a bureau of refugees, freed- 
men, and abandoned lands, to which shall be committed, as 
hereinafter provided, the supervision and management of all 
abandoned lands, and the control of all subjects relating to refu- 
gees and freedmen from rebel states, or from any district of 
country within the territory embraced in the operations of the 
army, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by 
the head of the bureau and approved by the President. The 
said bureau shall be under the management and control of a 
commissioner to be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, . . . And the commissioner 
and all persons appointed under this act, shall, before entering 
upon their duties, take the oath of ofifice prescribed in . . . [the 
act of July 2, 1862]. . . . 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of 
War may direct svich issues of provisions, clothing, and fuel, as 
he may deem needful for the immediate and temporary shelter 
and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen 
and their wives and children, under such rules and regulations 
as he may direct. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President may, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an 
assistant commissioner for each of the states declared to be in 
insurrection, not exceeding ten in number, who shall, under the 
direction of the commissioner, aid in the execution of the provi- 



1865] FREEDMEN'S BUREAU I31 

sions of this act ; . . . And any military officer may be detailed and 
assigned to duty under this act without increase of pay or allow- 
ances. The commissioner shall, before the commencement of each 
regular session of congress, make full report of his proceedings with 
exhibits of the state of his accounts to the President, who shall 
communicate the same to congress, and shall also make special 
reports whenever required to do so by the President or either 
house of congress ; and the assistant commissioners shall make 
quarterly reports of their proceedings to the commissioner, and 
also such other special reports as from time to time may be 
required. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioner, 
under the direction of the President, shall have authority to set 
apart, for the use of loyal refugees and freedmen, such tracts of 
land within the insurrectionary states as shall have been aban- 
doned, or to which the United States shall have acquired title 
by confiscation or sale, or otherwise, and to every male citizen, 
whether refugee or freedman, as aforesaid, there shall be 
assigned not more than forty acres of such land, and the person 
to whom it was so assigned shall be protected in the use and 
enjoyment of the land for the term of three years at an annual 
rent not exceeding six per centum upon the value of such land, 
as it was appraised by the state authorities in the year eighteen 
hundred and sixty, for the purpose of taxation, and in case no 
such appraisal can be found, then the rental shall be based upon 
the estimated value of the land in said year, to be ascertained 
in such manner as the commissioner may by regulation prescribe. 
At the end of said term, or at any time during said term, the occu- 
pants of any parcels so assigned may purchase the land and re- 
ceive such title thereto as the United States can convey, upon 
paying therefor the value of the land, as ascertained and fixed 
for the purpose of determining the annual rent aforesaid. 

Sec. 5. Afid be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of 
acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby 
repealed. 

Approved, March 3, 1865. 



132 FREEDOM FOR SOLDIERS' FAMILIES [March 3 

No. 45. Freedom for Soldiers' Families 

March 3, 1865 

A BILL to secure the freedom of soldiers' families wrs introduced in the 
Senate, December 13, 1864, by Wilson of Massachusetts, and passed that 
body January 9, 1865, notwithstanding strong opposition, by a vote of 27 to 
10. The vote in the House, February 22, on the passage of the bill was 74 to 
63, 45 not voting. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, 571. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 38th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Co7ig. Globe. The important debate was in the Senate. 

A Resolution to encourage Enlistments and to promote the Effi- 
ciency of the military Forces of the United States. 

Resolved . . ., That, for the purpose of encouraging enlistments 
and promoting the efficiency of the mihtary and naval forces of 
the United States, it is hereby enacted that the wife and children, 
if any he have, of any person that has been, or may be, mustered 
into the military or naval service of the United States, shall, 
from and after the passage of this act, be forever free, any law, 
usage, or custom whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding ; 
and in determining who is or was the wife and who are the 
children of the enlisted person herein mentioned, evidence that 
he and the woman claimed to be his wife have cohabited to- 
gether, or associated as husband and wife, and so continued to 
cohabit or associate at the time of the enlistment, or evidence 
that a form or ceremony of marriage, whether such marriage 
was or was not authorized or recognized by law, has been 
entered into or celebrated by them, and that the parties thereto 
thereafter lived together, or associated or cohabited as husband 
and wife, and so continued to live, cohabit, or associate at the 
time of the enlistment, shall be deemed sufficient proof of mar- 
riage for the purposes of this act, and the children born of any 
such marriage shall be deemed and taken to be the children 
embraced within the provisions of this act, whether such marriage 
shall or shall not have been dissolved at the time of such en- 
listment. 

Approved, March 3, 1865. 



1865] PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY 1 33 

No. 46. Proclamation of Amnesty- 
May 29, 1865 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, 758-760, For lists of 
pardons granted by Johnson see House Exec. Doc. 99, 39th Cong., ist Sess.; 
ibid. 31 and iib, 39th Cong., 2d Sess.; ibid. 32, 40th Cong., ist Sess., and 
ibid. lb, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. 

By the President of the United States. 
A PROCLAMATION. 

(After a reference to the amnesty proclamations of December 8, 1863, and 
March 26, 1864, the proclamation grants amnesty to all persons who have par- 
ticipated in the existing rebellion, subject to the exceptions indicated, and on 
condition of taking and subscribing the following oath :) 

" I, , do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) in presence of 

Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, 
and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union 
of the States thereunder ; and that I will, in Hke manner, abide 
by, and faithfully support all laws, and proclamations which 
have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to 
the emancipation of slaves. So help me God." 

The following classes of persons are excepted from the bene- 
fits of this Proclamation : — 

ist. All who are or shall have been pretended civil or diplo- 
matic officers, or otherwise domestic or foreign agents, of the 
pretended confederate government ; 

2d. All who left judicial stations under the United States to 
aid the rebellion ; 

3d. All who shall have been military or naval officers of said 
pretended confederate government above the rank of colonel in 
the army or lieutenant in the navy ; 

4th. All who left seats in the Congress of the United States 
to aid the rebellion ; 

5th. All who resigned or tendered resignations of their com- 
missions in the army or navy of the United States to evade duty 
in resisting the rebellion ; 



134 PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY [May 29 

6th. All who have engaged in any way in treating otherwise 
than lawfully as prisoners of war persons found in the United 
States service, as officers, soldiers, seamen, or in other capacities ; 

7th. All persons who have been, or are, absentees from the 
United States for the purpose of aiding the rebellion ; 

8th. All military and naval officers in the rebel service, who 
were educated by the government in the Military Academy at 
West Point or the United States Naval Academy ; 

9th. All persons who held the pretended offices of governors 
of states in insurrection against the United States ; 

loth. All persons who left their homes within the jurisdiction 
and protection of the United States, and passed beyond the fed- 
eral military lines into the pretended confederate states for the 
purpose of aiding the rebellion ; 

nth. All persons who have been engaged in the destruction 
of the commerce of the United States upon the high seas, and all 
persons who have made raids into the United States from Can- 
ada, or been engaged in destroying the commerce of the. United 
States upon the lakes and rivers that separate the British Prov- 
inces from the United States ; 

1 2th. All persons who, at the time when they seek to obtain 
the benefits hereof by taking the oath herein prescribed, are in 
military, naval, or civil confinement, or custody, or under bonds 
of the civil, military, or naval authorities, or agents of the United 
States as prisoners of war, or persons detained for offences of 
any kind, either before or after conviction ; 

13th. All persons who have voluntarily participated in said 
rebellion, and the estimated value of whose taxable property is 
over twenty thousand dollars ; 

14th. All persons who have taken the oath of amnesty as pre- 
scribed in the President's Proclamation of December 8th, A.D., 
1863, or an oath of allegiance to the government of the United 
States since the date of said Proclamation, and who have not 
thenceforward kept and maintained the same inviolate. 

Provided, That special application may be made to the Presi- 
dent for pardon by any person belonging to the excepted classes ; 



1865] GOVERNOR FOR NORTH CAROLINA 135 

and such clemency will be liberally extended as may be con- 
sistent with the facts of the case and the peace and dignity of the 
United States. 



No. 47. Proclamation appointing a Governor 
for North Carolina 

May 29, 1865 

The appointment of military governors in the States lately in rebellion, 
and the reestablishment of the State governments under their direction, were 
steps of primary importance in the plan of executive reconstruction proposed 
by President Johnson. Appointments similar to that in North Carolina were 
proclaimed June 13, for Mississippi ; June 17, for Georgia and Texas; June 21, 
for Alabama; June 30, for South Carolina, and July 13, for Florida. An 
executive order of May 9 had declared the authority of the United States 
reestablished in Virginia, directed the various departments of the national 
government to resume operations in that State, and promised federal aid to 
Governor Pierpont if necessary. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIII, 760, 761. On 
Johnson's theory of reconstruction in this connection see his annual message 
of December 4, 1865; see also Cox, Three Decades, chaps. 18, 27-31 ; McCall, 
Thaddeus Stevens, chap. 14. 

By the President of the United States of America. 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article of the Con- 
stitution of the United States declares that the United States 
shall guarantee to every state in the Union a republican form of 
government, and shall protect each of them against invasion and 
domestic violence ; and whereas the President of the United 
States is, by the constitution, made commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy, as well as chief civil executive officer of the 
United States, and is bound by solemn oath faithfully to execute 
the office of President of the United States, and to take care 
that the laws be faithfully executed ; and whereas the rebellion, 



136 GOVERNOR FOR NORTH CAROLINA [May 29 

which has been waged by a portion of the people of the United 
States against the properly constituted authorities of the govern- 
ment thereof, in the most violent and revolting form, but whose 
organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely over- 
come, has, in its revolutionary progress, deprived the people of 
the State of North Carolina of all civil government ; and where- 
as it becomes necessary and proper to carry out and enforce 
the obligations of the United States to the people of North Caro- 
lina, in securing them in the enjoyment of a republican form of 
government : 

Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties 
imposed upon me by the Constitution of the United States, and 
for the purpose of enabling the loyal people of said state to or- 
ganize a state government, whereby justice may be established, 
domestic tranquillity insured, and loyal citizens protected in all 
their rights of life, liberty, and property, I, ANDREW JOHN- 
SON, President of the United States, and commander-in-chief of 
the army and navy of the United States, do hereby appoint William 
W. Holden provisional governor of the State of North Carolina, 
whose duty it shall be, at the earliest practicable period, to 
prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary and 
proper for convening a convention, composed of delegates to be 
chosen by that portion of the people of said state who are loyal 
to the United States, and no others, for the purpose of altering 
or amending the constitution thereof; and with authority to 
exercise, within the limits of said state, all the powers necessary 
and proper to enable such loyal people of the State of North 
Carolina to restore said state to its constitutional relations to the 
federal government, and to present such a republican form of 
state government as will entitle the state to the guarantee of the 
United States therefor, and its people to protection by the 
United States against invasion, insurrection, and domestic vio- 
lence ; Provided that, in any election that may be hereafter held 
for choosing delegates to any state convention as aforesaid, no 
person shall be qualified as an elector, or shall be eligible as 
a member of such convention, unless he shall have previously 



1 865] GOVERNOR FOR NORTH CAROLINA 1 3/ 

taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty, as set forth in the 
President's Proclamation of May 29, A.D. 1865, and is a voter 
qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State 
of North Carolina in force immediately before the 20th day of 
May, A.D. 1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession ; 
and the said convention, when convened, or the legislature that 
may be thereafter assembled, will prescribe the qualification of 
electors, and the eligibility of persons to hold office under the 
constitution and laws of the state, — a power the people of the 
several states composing the Federal Union have rightfully exer- 
cised from the origin of the government to the present time. 

And I do hereby direct — 

First. That the military commander of the department, and 
all officers and persons in the military or naval service, aid and 
assist the said provisional governor in carrying into effect this 
Proclamation, and they be enjoyed to abstain from, in any way, 
hindering, impeding, or discouraging the loyal people from the 
organization of a state government as herein authorized. 

Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force 
all laws of the United States, the administration whereof belongs 
to the State Department, applicable to the geographical limits 
aforesaid. 

Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nomi- 
nate for appointment assessors of taxes, and collectors of customs 
and internal revenue, and such other officers of the Treasury 
Department as are authorized by law, and put in execution the 
revenue laws of the United States within the geographical limits 
aforesaid. In making appointments, the preference shall be 
given to qualified loyal persons residing within the districts 
where their respective duties are to be performed. But if suit- 
able residents of the districts shall not be found, then persons 
residing in other states or districts shall be appointed. 

Fourth. That the Postmaster-General proceed to establish 
post-offices and post-routes, and put into execution the postal 
laws of the United States within the said state, giving to loyal 
residents the preference of appointment ; but if suitable resi- 



138 THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT [Dec. 18 

dents are not found, then to appoint agents, &c., from other 
states. 

Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial district in which 
North CaroHna is included proceed to hold courts within said 
state, in accordance with the provisions of the act of congress. 
The Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel, 
and bring to judgment, confiscation, and sale, property subject 
to confiscation, and enforce the administration of justice within 
said state in all matters within the cognizance and jurisdiction 
of the federal courts. 

Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all 
public property belonging to the Navy Department within said 
geographical limits, and put in operation all acts of congress in 
relation to naval affairs having application to the said state. 

Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the 
laws relating to the Interior Department applicable to the geo- 
graphical limits aforesaid. 



No. 48. Thirteenth Amendment 

December 18, 1865 

January ii, 1864, John B. Henderson of Missouri offered in the Senate a 
joint resolution for an amendment to the Constitution providing that " slavery 
or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, shall not exist in 
the United States." February 8 Sumner proposed an amendment declaring 
that " everywhere within the limits of the United States, and of each State or 
Territory thereof, all persons are equal before the law, so that no person can 
hold another as a slave." Both of these resolutions were referred to the Com- 
mittee on the Judiciary, which reported, February 10, a resolution proposing 
an amendment in the terms of the thirteenth amendment subsequently ratified. 
On the 15th the House, by a vote of 78 to 62, resolved in favor of an amend- 
ment abolishing slavery. The joint resolution passed the Senate, April 8, by 
a vote of 38 to 6. The resolution was not taken up in the House until May 31, 
and June 15, by a vote of 95 to 66 (less than the required two-thirds), was 
rejected. January 31, 1865, the vote was reconsidered and the resolution 
passed, the vote being 121 to 24, 37 not voting. The ratification of the 
amendment by twenty-seven States was proclaimed December 18, 1865. 



1865] INSURRECTION AT AN END 1 39 

References, — Text in Revised Statutes of the United States (ed. 1878), 
30. For the proceedings in Congress see the House and Seftate Journals, 
38th Cong., 1st and 2d Sess., and the Cong. Globe. The principal proposi- 
tions submitted are collected in McPherson, Rebellion, 255-259. On the scope 
of the amendment see Slaughter House Cases, 16 Wallace, 36. See also Cox, 
Three Decades, chap. 16; Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, X, chap. 4. 

Article XIII. 

Sec. I. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, save as 
a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction. 

Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

No. 49. Proclamation declaring the Insurrec- 
tion at an End 

April 2, 1866 

In a message to the Senate December 18, 1865, in response to a resolution 
of December 12, President Johnson stated that the rebellion had been sup- 
pressed ; " that the United States are in possession of every State in which 
the insurrection existed, and that, as far as it could be done, the courts of the 
United States have been restored, post-offices reestablished, and steps taken 
to put into effective operation the revenue laws of the country." Various 
executive orders in regard to the blockade, commercial intercourse, habeas 
corpus, etc., preceded the proclamation of April 2. A similar proclamation 
of August 20 declared the insurrection in Texas at an end. 

References. — 7Vx/ in U.S. Statutes at Z«r^f, XIV, 811-813. As to 
when the war ended see United States v. Anderson, 9 IVallace, 56, and The 
Protector, 12 ibid., 700. 

Bv the President of the United States. 
A PROCLAMATION. 

(The proclamation recites the proclamations of April 15 and 19 and August 
16, 1861, July I, 1862, and April 2, 1863, the resolutions of the House and 
Senate July 22 and 25, 1861, on the nature of the war, and the proclamation 
of June 13, 1865, declaring the insurrection in Tennessee to have been sup- 
pressed, and continues:) 



140 INSURRECTION AT AN END [April 2 

And whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance 
of misguided citizens or others to the authority of the United 
States in the States of Georgia, South CaroUna, Virginia, North 
CaroUna, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missis- 
sippi, and Florida, and the laws can be sustained and enforced 
therein by the proper civil authority, State or Federal, and the 
people of said States are well and loyally disposed, and have 
conformed or will conform in their legislation to the condition 
of affairs growing out of the amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States, prohibiting slavery within the limits and 
jurisdiction of the United States ; 

And whereas, in view of the before-recited premises, it is the 
manifest determination of the American people that no State, of 
its own will, has the right or the power to go out of, or separate 
itself from, or be separated from the American Union, and that 
therefore each State ought to remain and constitute an integral 
part of the United States ; 

And whereas the people of the several before-mentioned 
States have, in the manner aforesaid, given satisfactory evidence 
that they acquiesce in this sovereign and important resolution 
of national unity ; 

And whereas it is believed to be a fundamental principle of 
government that people who have revolted, and who have been 
overcome and subdued, must either be dealt with so as to induce 
them voluntarily to become friends, or else they must be held by 
absolute military power, or devastated, so as to prevent them 
from ever again doing harm as enemies, which last-named policy 
is abhorrent to humanity and to freedom ; 

And whereas the Constitution of the United States provides 
for constituent communities only as States, and not as Territo- 
ries, dependencies, provinces, or protectorates ; 

And whereas such constituent States must necessarily be, and 
by the Constitution and laws of the United States are made 
equals, and placed upon a like footing as to political rights, im- 
munities, dignity, and power with the several States with which 
they are united ; 



i866] FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS ACT I4I 

And whereas the observance of political equality as a prin- 
ciple of right and justice is well calculated to encourage the 
people of the aforesaid States to be and become more and more 
constant and persevering in their renewed allegiance ; 

And whereas standing armies, military occupation, martial law, 
military tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the 
writ of habeas corpus are, in time of peace, dangerous to public 
liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of the citizen, 
contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions, and 
exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore, 
to be sanctioned or allowed, except in cases of actual necessity, 
for repelling invasion or surpressing insurrection or rebellion ; 

And whereas the policy of the government of the United 
States, from the beginning of the insurrection to its overthrow 
and final suppression, has been in conformity with the principles 
herein set forth and enumerated ; 

Now, therefore, I, ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the 
United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrec- 
tion which heretofore existed in the States of Georgia, South 
Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisi- 
ana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida is at an end, and is 
henceforth to be so regarded. 



No. 50. First Civil Rights Act 

April 9, 1866 

A BILL "to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights and 
furnish the means of their vindication " was introduced in the Senate, January 
5, 1866, by Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, and referred to the Committee on 
Judiciary. Amendments reported by the committee were agreed to on the 
1 2th. February I an amendment submitted by Truml:>ull, regarding the 
citizenship of persons born in the United States, being the first part of sec- 
tion I of the act, was agreed to by a vote of 31 to 10, but the following day 
an amendment striking out the provision for the employment of military force 
was rejected, the vote being 12 to 24. The bill passed the Senate February 2, 
and the House, with further amendments, March 13, the vote in the House 



142 FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS ACT [April 9 

being 1 1 1 to 38, 34 not voting. The Senate agreed to the House amend- 
ments. March 27 President Johnson vetoed the bill. The bill was passed 
over the veto by the Senate, after a long discussion, April 6, by a vote of 33 to 
15, and by the House April 9, by a vote of 132 to 41, 21 not voting. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large., XIV, 27-29. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cang. Globe. The text of the Senate bill as reported by the committee is in 
the Globe for January 12. The veto message is in the Globe z.-^A iht Journals. 
For a report of February 19, 1867, on violations of the act, see Senate Exec. 
Doc.2g, 39th Cong., 2d Sess.; for State laws relating to freedmen see Senate 
Exec. Doc. 6, ibid. See also Dunning, Essays., 91-99. 

An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil 
Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication. 

Be it enacted . . ., That all persons born in the United States 
and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, 
are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States ; and 
such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any 
previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as 
a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall have the same right, in every State and Terri- 
tory in the United States, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, 
be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, 
hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and 
equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of per- 
son and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be 
subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none 
other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person who, 
under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, 
shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any inhabitant of any 
State or Territory to the deprivation of any right secured or 
protected by this act, or to different punishment, pains, or penal- 
ties on account of such person having at any time been held in a 
condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punish- 
ment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 



i866] FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS ACT I43 

or by reason of his color or race, than is prescribed for the 
punishment of white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 
demeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished by fine not 
exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding 
one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the district courts of 
the United States, within their respective districts, shall have, 
exclusively of the courts of the several States, cognizance of all 
crimes and offences committed against the provisions of this act, 
and also, concurrently with the circuit courts of the United 
States, of all causes, civil and criminal, affecting persons who are 
denied or cannot enforce in the courts or judicial tribunals of 
the State or locality where they may be any of the rights 
secured to them by the first section of this act ; and if any suit 
or prosecution, civil or criminal, has been or shall be com- 
menced in any State court, against any such person, for any 
cause whatsoever, or against any officer, civil or military, or 
other person, for any arrest or imprisonment, trespasses, or 
wrongs done or committed by virtue or under color of authority 
derived from this act or the act establishing a Bureau for the 
relief of Freedmen and Refugees, and all acts amendatory 
thereof, or for refusing to do any act upon the ground that it 
would be inconsistent with this act, such defendant shall have 
the right to remove such cause for trial to the proper district or 
circuit court in the manner prescribed by the " Act relating to 
habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain 
cases," approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
and all acts amendatory thereof. The jurisdiction in civil and 
criminal matters hereby conferred on the district and circuit 
courts of the United States shall be exercised and enforced in 
conformity with the laws of the United States, so far as such 
laws are suitable to carry the same into effect ; but in all cases 
where such laws are not adapted to the object, or are deficient 
in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and 
punish offences against law, the common law, as modified and 
changed by the constitution and statutes of the State wherein 



144 FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS ACT [April 9 

the court having jurisdiction of the cause, civil or criminal, is 
held, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution 
and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and govern 
said courts in the trial and disposition of such cause, and, if of 
a criminal nature, in the infliction of punishment on the party 
found guilty. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the district attor- 
neys, marshals, and deputy marshals of the United States, the 
commissioners appointed by the circuit and territorial courts 
of the United States, with powers of arresting, imprisoning, or 
bailing offenders against the laws of the United States, the 
officers and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and every other 
officer who may be specially empowered by the President of 
the United States, shall be, and they are hereby, specially 
authorized and required, at the expense of the United States, to 
institute proceedings against all and every person who shall 
violate the provisions of this act, and cause him or them to be 
arrested and imprisoned, or bailed, as the case may be, for trial 
before such court of the United States or territorial court as by 
this act has cognizance of the offence. And with a view to 
affording reasonable protection to all persons in their constitu- 
tional rights of equality before the law, without distinction of 
race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary 
servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party 
shall have been duly convicted, and to the prompt discharge of 
the duties of this act, it shall be the duty of the circuit courts of 
the United States and the superior courts of the Territories 
of the United States, from time to time, to increase the number 
of commissioners, so as to aliford a speedy and convenient means 
for the arrest and examination of persons charged with a viola- 
tion of this act ; and such commissioners are hereby authorized 
and required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties 
conferred on them by this act, and the same duties with regard 
to offences created by this act, as they are authorized by law to 
exercise with regard to other offences against the laws of the 
United States. 



iS66] FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS ACT I45 

Sec. 5. And be it fiu'ther enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all war- 
rants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when 
to them directed; and should any marshal or deputy marshal 
refuse to receive such warrant or other process when tendered, 
or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he 
shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thou- 
sand dollars, to the use of the person upon whom the accused 
is alleged to have committed the offence. And the better to 
enable the said commissioners to execute their duties faithfully 
and efficiently, in conformity with the Constitution of the United 
States and the requirements of this act, they are hereby author- 
ized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to 
appoint, in writing, under their hands, any one or more suitable 
persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and 
other process as may be issued by them in the lawful perform- 
ance of their respective duties ; and the persons so appointed 
to execute any warrant or process as aforesaid shall have 
authority to summon and call to their aid the bystanders or 
posse comitatus of the proper county, or such portion of the 
land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as 
may be necessary to the performance of the duty with which 
they are charged, and to insure a faithful observance of the 
clause of the Constitution which prohibits slavery, in conformity 
with the provisions of this act ; and said warrants shall run and 
be executed by said officers anywhere in the State or Territory 
within which they are issued. 

Sec. 6. And be it further e7iacted, That any person who shall 
knowingly and wilfully obstruct, hinder, or prevent any officer, 
or other person charged with the execution of any warrant or 
process issued under the provisions of this act, or any person or 
persons lawfully assisting him or them, from arresting any 
person for whose apprehension such warrant or process may 
have been issued, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue such per- 
son from the custody of the officer, other person or persons, or 
those lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested pursuant 

L 



146 FIRST CIVIL RIGHTS ACT [April 9 

to the authority herein given and declared, or shall aid, abet, or 
assist any person so arrested as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, 
to escape from the custody of the officer or other person legally 
authorized as aforesaid, or shall harbor or conceal any person 
for whose arrest a warrant or process shall have been issued as 
aforesaid, so as to prevent his discovery and arrest after notice 
or knowledge of the fact that a warrant has been issued for the 
apprehension of such person, shall, for either of said offences, 
be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and 
imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and 
conviction before the district court of the United States for the 
district in which said offence may have been committed, or 
before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed 
within any one of the organized Territories of the United States. 

Sec. 7. [Fees of district attorneys, marshals, &c.] 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That whenever the Presi- 
dent of the United States shall have reason to believe that 
offences have been or are likely to be committed against the 
provisions of this act within any judicial district, it shall be law- 
ful for him, in his discretion, to direct the judge, marshal, and 
district attorney of such district to attend at such place within 
the district, and for such time as he may designate, for the pur- 
pose of the more speedy arrest and trial of persons charged 
with a violation of this act ; and it shall be the duty of every 
judge or other officer, when any such requisition shall be re- 
ceived by him, to attend at the place and for the time therein 
designated. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for 
the President of the United States, or such person as he may 
empower for that purpose, to employ such part of the land or 
naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as shall be 
necessary to prevent the violation and enforce the due execution 
of this act. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That upon all questions of 
law arising in any cause under the provisions of this act a final 
appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States. 



1 866] SUPPLEMENTARY FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ACT 1 47 

No. 5 1 . Supplementary Freedmen's Bureau Act 

July 16, 1866 

A BILL to continue in force and amend the act of March 3, 1865, establish- 
ing a freedmen's bureau, and enlarging the scope of that act, was vetoed by 
President Johnson February 19, 1866. An attempt to pass the bill over the 
veto failed in the Senate. A bill of similar purport, but aiming to avoid the 
objections urged against the earlier act, was reported in the House, May 22, 
by Eliot of Massachusetts, from the Committee on Freedmen, and passed that 
body on the 29lh by a vote of 96 to 32, 55 not voting. The Senate passed 
the bill with amendments June 26, without a division. The House disagreed 
to the Senate amendments, and the bill received its final form from a confer- 
ence committee. July 16 President Johnson vetoed the bill. The bill was 
passed over the veto the same day, in the Senate by a vote of 33 to 12, in the 
House by a vote of 103 to ^^, 46 not voting. An act of July 6, 1868, con- 
tinued the bureau until July 16, 1869, but an act of July 25, 1868, provided 
for its discontinuance after January i, 1869. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 173-177. For the 
proceedings on both bills see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., ist 
Sess., and the Cong. Globe. The bill introduced by Eliot, May 22, is com- 
pared with the vetoed bill in the Globe for May 23. On the work of the bureau 
see House Exec. Docs. 120-123, 39th Cong., ist Sess., and ibid. 7, 39th Cong., 
2d Sess.; Senate Exec. Doc. 27, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. 

An Act to cotiti/iue in force and to amend " Ati Act to establish a 
Bureau for the Relief of Freedinen and Refugees,'" and for 
other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the act to estabUsh a bureau for the 
reHef of freedmen and refugees, approved March third, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-five, shall continue in force for the term of 
two years from and after the passage of this act. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the supervision and 
care of said bureau shall extend to all loyal refugees and 
freedmen, so far as the same shall be necessary to enable them 
as speedily as practicable to become self-supporting citizens 
of the United States, and to aid them in making the freedom 
conferred by proclamation of the commander-in-chief, by eman- 
cipation under the laws of States, and by constitutional amend- 
ment, available to them and beneficial to the republic. 



148 SUPPLEMENTARY FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ACT [July 16 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President shall, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint two 
assistant commissioners, in addition to those authorized by the 
act to which this is an amendment, . . . and each of the assistant 
commissioners of the bureau shall have charge of one district 
containing such refugees or freedmen, to be assigned him by 
the commissioner with the approval of the President. And the 
commissioner shall, under the direction of the President, and so 
far as the same shall be, in his judgment, necessary for the 
efficient and economical administration of the affairs of the 
bureau, appoint such agents, clerks, and assistants as may be 
required for the proper conduct of the bureau. Military officers 
or enlisted men may be detailed for service and assigned to 
duty under this act; and the President may, if in his judgment 
safe and judicious so to do, detail from the army all the officers 
and agents of this bureau; but no officer so assigned shall 
have increase of pay or allowances. . . . And it shall be the 
duty of the commissioner, when it can be done consistently with 
public interest, to appoint, as assistant commissioners, agents, 
and clerks, such men as have proved their loyalty by faithful 
service in the armies of the Union during the rebellion. And 
all persons appointed to service under this act and the act to 
which this is an amendment, shall be so far deemed in the mili- 
tary service of the United States as to be under the military 
jurisdiction, and entitled to the military protection of the govern- 
ment while in discharge of the duties of their office. 

Sec. 4. [Officers of veteran reserve corps now in the bureau 
may be retained.] 

Sec. 5. A)id be it further enacted, That the second section 
of the act to which this is an amendment shall be deemed to 
authorize the Secretary of War to issue such medical stores 
or other supplies and transportation, and afford such medical 
or other aid as here may be needful for the purposes named in 
said section : Provided, That no person shall be deemed " des- 
titute," " suffering," or " dependent upon the government for 
support," within the meaning of this act, who is able to find 



i866] SUPPLEMENTARY FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ACT 1 49 

employment, and could, by proper industry or exertion, avoid 
such destitution, suffering, or dependence. 

[Sections 6-1 1 relate to the disposition of certain lands in 
South Carolina and Georgia.] 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the commissioner 
shall have power to seize, hold, use, lease, or sell all buildings 
and tenements, and any lands appertaining to the same, or 
otherwise, formerly held under color of title by the late so- 
called confederate states, and not heretofore disposed of by the 
United States, and any buildings or lands held in trust for 
the same by any person or persons, and to use the same or 
appropriate the proceeds derived therefrom to the education of 
the freed people ; and whenever the bureau shall cease to exist, 
such of said so-called confederate states as shall have made 
provision for the education of their citizens without distinction 
of color shall receive the sum remaining unexpended of such 
sales or rentals, which shall be distributed among said states 
for educational purposes in proportion to their population. 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That the commissioner of 
this bureau shall at all times co-operate with private benevo- 
lent associations of citizens in aid of freedmen, and with agents 
and teachers, duly accredited and appointed by them, and shall 
hire or provide by lease buildings for purposes of education 
whenever such association shall, withoiat cost to the government, 
provide suitable teachers and means of instruction ; and he 
shall furnish such protection as may be required for the safe 
conduct of such schools. 

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That in every State or 
district where the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has 
been interrupted by the rebellion, and until the same shall be 
fully restored, and in every State or district whose constitutional 
relations to the government have been practically discontinued 
by the rebellion, and until such State shall have been restored 
in such relations, and shall be duly represented in the Congress 
of the United States, the right to make and enforce contracts, 
to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, 



I50 SUPPLEMENTARY FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ACT [July 1 6 

sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to have 
full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings concerning 
personal liberty, personal security, and the acquisition, enjoy- 
ment, and disposition of estate, real and personal, including the 
constitutional right to bear arms, shall be secured to and 
enjoyed by all the citizens of such State or district without 
respect to race or color, or previous condition of slavery. And 
whenever in either of said States or districts the ordinary course 
of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, 
and until the same shall be fully restored, and until such State 
shall have been restored in its constitutional relations to the 
government, and shall be duly represented in the Congress of 
the United States, the President shall, through the commissioner 
and the officers of the bureau, and under such rules and regula- 
tions as the President, through the Secretary of War, shall pre- 
scribe, extend military protection and have military jurisdiction 
over all cases and questions concerning the free enjoyment of 
such immunities and rights, and no penalty or punishment for 
any violation of law shall be imposed or permitted because of 
race or color, or previous condition of slavery, other or greater 
than the penalty or punishment to which white persons may be 
liable by law for the like offence. But the jurisdiction conferred 
by this section upon the officers of the bureau shall not exist in 
any State where the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has 
not been interrupted by the rebellion, and shall cease in every 
State when the courts of the State and the United States are 
not disturbed in the peaceable course of justice, and after such 
State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations to the 
government, and shall be duly represented in the Congress of 
the United States. 

Sec. 15. Ajid be it further enacted, That all officers, agents, 
and employes of this bureau, before entering upon the duties of 
their office shall take the oath prescribed in the first section of the 
act to which this is an amendment; and all acts or parts of acts 
inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. 



i866] RESTORATION OF TENNESSEE I51 

No. 52. Restoration of Tennessee 

July 24, 1866 

A BILL to restore Tennessee, accompanied by certain testimony and other 
papers, was reported in the House, March 5, 1866, by Bingham of Ohio, from 
the Joint Select Committee on Reconstruction, and recommitted. It was taken 
up July 19, and agreed to on the 20th, the vote on the preamble being 86 to 
48,48 not voting, and on the resolution 126 to 12, 45 not voting. In the 
Senate an amendment proposed by Sumner, providing that there should be 
no denial of equal legal rights on account of race or color, was rejected, 4 to 
34, and an amended preamble agreed to, the latter vote being 23 to 20. The 
amendments to the resolution were agreed to by the House, July 23, without a 
division, and the amendment to the preamble by a vote of 93 to 26, 62 not 
voting. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 364. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The majority and minority reports of March 5 and 6 are House 
Reports 2g and jo. In the history of the act the evolution of the preamble is 
particularly important. 

Joint Resolution restoring Tennessee to her Relations to the Union. 

Whereas, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, the 
government of the State of Tennessee was seized upon and taken 
possession of by persons in hostiUty to the United States, and 
the inhabitants of said State in pursuance of an act of Congress 
were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the United 
States ; and whereas said State government can only be restored 
to its former political relations in the Union by the consent of 
the law-making power of the United States ; and whereas the 
people of said State did, on the twenty-second day of February, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-five, by a large popular vote, adopt 
and ratify a constitution of government whereby slavery was 
abolished, and all ordinances and laws of secession and debts 
contracted under the same were declared void ; and whereas 
a State government has been organized under said constitution 
which has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed 
by the thirty-ninth Congress, and has done other acts proclaim- 
ing and denoting loyalty ; Therefore, 



152 ELECTION OF SENATORS [July 25 

Be it resolved . . ., That the State of Tennessee is hereby- 
restored to her former proper, practical relations to the Union, 
and is again entitled to be represented by senators and repre- 
sentatives in Congress. 

Approved, July 24, 1866. 



No. 53. Election of Senators 

July 25, 1866 

A BILL to regulate senatorial elections was reported in the Senate, July 9, 
1866, by Daniel Clark of New Hampshire, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 
to whom a resolution on the subject had been referred. The bill passed the 
Senate on the nth by a vote of 25 to 11, and the House on the 25th without 
a division. A motion to lay the bill on the table in the House was lost, the 
vote being 22 to 89. 

References. — Tejci in l/.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 243, 244. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., ist Sess., and 
the Coitg. Globe. There was no discussion in the House. 

A71 Act to regulate the Times and Manner of holding Elections for 
Senators in Congress. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the legislature of each State which 
shall be chosen next preceding the expiration of the time for 
which any senator was elected to represent said State in Con- 
gress, shall, on the second Tuesday after the meeting and or- 
ganization thereof, proceed to elect a senator in Congress, in 
the place of such senator so going out of office, in the following 
manner: Each house shall openly, by a viva voce [vote] of 
each member present, name one person for senator in Congress 
from said State, and the name of the person so voted for, who shall 
have a majority of the whole number of votes cast in each house 
shall be entered on the journal of each house by the clerk or 
secretary thereof ; but if either house shall fail to give such 
majority to any person on said day, that fact shall be entered 



i866] ELECTION OF SENATORS 1 53 

on the journal. At twelve o'clock, meridian, of the day following 
that on which proceedings are required to take place, as afore- 
said, the members of the two houses shall convene in joint 
assembly and the journal of each house shall then be read, and 
if the same person shall have received a majority of all the votes 
in each house, such person shall be declared duly elected sena- 
tor to represent said State in the Congress of the United States ; 
but if the same person shall not have received a majority of the 
votes in each house, or if either house shall have failed to take 
proceedings as required by this act, the joint assembly shall 
then proceed to choose, by a viva voce vote of each member present 
a person for the purpose aforesaid, and the person having a 
majority of all the votes of the said joint assembly, a majority of 
all the members elected to both houses being present and voting, 
shall be declared duly elected ; and in case no person shall 
receive such majority on the first day, the joint assembly shall 
meet at twelve o'clock, meridian, of each succeeding day during 
the session of the legislature, and take at least one vote until a 
senator shall be elected. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That whenever, on the 
meeting of the legislature of any State, a vacancy shall exist in 
the representation of such State in the senate of the United 
States, said legislature shall proceed, on the second Tuesday 
after the commencement and organization of its session, to 
elect a person to fill such vacancy, in the manner hereinbefore 
provided for the election of a senator for a full term ; and if a 
vacancy shall happen during the session of the legislature, then 
on the second Tuesday after the legislature shall have been 
organized and shall have notice of such vacancy. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
the governor of the State from which any senator shall have 
been chosen as aforesaid to certify his election, under the seal 
of the State, to the President of the senate of the United States, 
which certificate shall be countersigned by the secretary of 
state of the State. 

Approved, July 25, 1866. 



1 54 FRANCHISE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA [Jan. 8 

No. 54. Franchise in the District of Columbia 

January 8, 1867 

A BILL to regulate the elective franchise in the District of Columbia was 
introduced in the Senate, December 4, 1865, by Wade of Ohio, and reported 
with amendments on the 20th. January 10, 1866, the bill was recommitted, 
and on the 12th again reported with an amendment. It was not taken up 
until June 28, when further consideration was postponed until December. 
The bill was taken up December lo, and on the 13th passed the Senate, the 
vote being 32 to 13. On the 14th the bill passed the House by a vote of 127 
to 46, 18 not voting. January 7, 1867, President Johnson vetoed the bill. 
The bill was passed over the veto by the Senate on the 7th, by a vote of 29 to 
10, and by the House on the 8th, by a vote of 112 to 38, 41 not voting. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large., XIV, 375, 376. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. A minority report in the House, December 19, 1865, is House 
Report 2, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. 

AN ACT to regulate the elective franchise in the District of 
Columbia. 

Be it enacted . . ., That, from and after the passage of this 
act, each and every male person, excepting paupers and persons 
under guardianship, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, 
who has not been convicted of any infamous crime or offence, 
and excepting persons who may have vokmtarily given aid and 
comfort to the rebels in the late rebellion, and who shall have 
been born or naturalized in the United States, and who shall 
have resided in the said District for the period of one year, and 
three months in the ward or election precinct in which he shall 
offer to vote next preceding any election therein, shall be en- 
titled to the elective franchise, and shall be deemed an elector 
and entitled to vote at any election in said District, without any 
distinction on account of color or race. 

Sec. 2. A7id be it further enacted., That any person whose 
duty it shall be to receive votes at any election within the 
District of Columbia, who shall wilfully refuse to receive, or who 
shall wilfully reject, the vote of any person entitled to such 
right under this act, shall be liable to an action of tort by the 



1867] ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN THE TERRITORIES 1 55 

person injured, and shall be liable, on indictment and conviction, 
if such act was done knowingly, to a fine not exceeding five 
thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 
one year in the jail of said District, or to both. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That if any person or per- 
sons shall wilfully interrupt or disturb any such elector in the 
exercise of such franchise, he or they shall be deemed guilty of 
a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined in any 
sum not to exceed one thousand dollars, or be imprisoned in the 
jail in said District for a period not to exceed thirty days, or 
both, at the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
the several courts having criminal jurisdiction in said District 
to give this act in special charge to the grand jury at the com- 
mencement of each term of the court next preceding the holding 
of any general or city election in said District. 

[The remaining sections relate to the use of a check-list, pun- 
ishment of bribery or intimidation, &c.] 



No. ^^. Elective Franchise in the Territories 

January 31, 1867 

A BILL to amend the organic acts of the several Territories was introduced 
in the House, April 24, 1866, by James M. Ashley of Ohio, and referred to the 
Committee on Territories. The bill was reported without amendment on the 
26th, recommitted, and again reported May 3. A substitute offered by Ashley 
May 15, the ninth section of which prohibited the denial of the elective fran- 
chise on account of race or color, was agreed to by a vote of 79 to 43, 61 not 
voting, a motion to strike out the ninth section being defeated by a vote of 
36 to 76, 72 not voting. The bill was reported with amendments in the Senate 
May 31, but went over until the next session. January 10, 1867, a substitute 
in the words of the act following, offered by Wade of Ohio, was agreed to. 
The Senate amendment was accepted by the House by a vote of 104 to t,^, 
49 not voting. The bill became a law without the President's approval. 

Rkferences. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 379. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 1st and 2d Sess., 
and the Cong. Globe. An abstract of the House bill of May 3 is in the Globe 
for that date ; Ashley's substitute, ibid.. May 15. 



1 56 FIRST RECONSTRUCTION ACT [March 2 

An Ad to regulate the elective Franchise in the Territories of the 
United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That from and after the passage of this act, 
there shall be no denial of the elective franchise in any of the 
Territories of the United States, now, or hereafter to be organ- 
ized, to any citizen thereof, on account of race, color, or pre- 
vious condition of servitude ; and all acts or parts of acts, either 
of Congress or the Legislative Assemblies of said Territories, 
inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby declared 
null and void. 



No. 56. First Reconstruction Act 

March 2, 1867 

The question of the restoration of the insurrectionary States to a place in 
the Union early engaged the attention of Congress, and many resolutions 
setting forth the opinions of their framers as to the way in which such resto- 
ration should be brought about, were submitted. A concurrent resolution 
of March 2, 1866, declared " that, in order to close agitation upon a question 
which seems likely to disturb the action of the government, as well as to quiet 
the uncertainty which is agitating the minds of the people of the eleven 
States which have been declared to be in rebellion, no senator or representa- 
tive shall be admitted into either branch of Congress from any of said States 
until Congress shall have declared such State entitled to such representation." 
The majority report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction was submitted 
June 18, 1866, and the minority report four days later. A bill to reconstruct 
North Carolina was introduced by Thaddeus Stevens December 1 3. February 6, 
1867, however, Stevens reported from the joint committee a general reconstruc- 
tion bill. On the 13th a substitute offered by Stevens was agreed to, and the 
bill passed the House, the vote being 109 to 55, 26 not voting. An amendment 
submitted by James G. Blaine of Maine, providing that when Congress should 
have approved the Constitution of any State conferring suffrage in accordance 
with the Fourteenth Amendment, the other sections of the bill should become 
inoperative, was rejected. In the meantime the Fourteenth Amendment had 
been rejected by all the seceding States except Tennessee. The Blaine 
amendment, offered by Sherman in the Senate, was accepted by that house, 
and the amended bill passed, February 16, by a vote of 29 to 10. On the 
19th the House, by a vote of 73 to 98, refused to concur, but the next day re- 
ceded from its disagreement, and concurred in the amendments of the Sen- 



186;] FIRST RECONSTRUCTION ACT 1 57 

ate, with the addition of amendments embracing section 6 and the proviso of 
section 5 of the act as passed. The bill was vetoed by President Johnson 
March 2, but was promptly passed over the veto the same day, the vote in the 
House being 138 to 51, 3 not voting, and in the Senate 35 to 11. An act of 
January 22 had provided "for the meeting of the fortieth and all succeeding 
Congresses immediately after the adjournment of the preceding Congress," 
while another act of February 21 directed the clerk of the House to include 
in the roll of representatives for the next Congress members from those States 
only which had been represented in the preceding Congress. A joint resolu- 
tion of March 30 appropriated ;^500,ooo for the expenses of executing the 
various reconstruction acts. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 428, 429. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The bill reported February 6 is the same as the act as passed, 
except the fifth and sixth sections, which were added as amendments. For 
the texts of the more important resolutions on reconstruction, with the action 
upon them, see McPherson, Reconstruction, 109-114, 183-187. Johnson's 
message of July 20, 1867, transmitting a report of a cabinet meeting, is in 
Richardson, Messages ami Papers of the Presidents, VI, 527-531. The docu- 
mentary literature is extensive. The report of the Joint Committee on Recon- 
struction is House Report 30, 39th Cong., ist Sess. On the early disturbances 
in the South see House Exec. Doc. gb and House Report 101, 39th Cong., ist 
Sess. ; House Exec. Docs. 61, 68, and 72 and Hotise Report 16, 39th Cong., 2d 
Sess. The most important orders, etc, relating to military reconstruction, are 
in Senate Exec. Doc. 14, 40th Cong., 1st Sess.; see also Senate Exec. Doc. 14, 
and Senate Report 14, 38th Cong., ist Sess.; HoT(se Report 23, 39th Cong., 
2d Sess.; House Exec. Doc. 342, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. The State constitu- 
tions of the reconstruction period are in Poore, Charters and Constitutions. 
On political conditions see House Exec. Doc. ijr. Senate Exec. Doc. 43, Sen- 
ate Misc. Doc. 62, and Senate Report iJ2, 39th Cong., 1st Sess.; House Exec. 
Docs. 20 and 34 and House Misc. Docs. 2g and ^3, 40th Cong., ist Sess.; House 
Exec. Docs. ^3 and 2^6 and Senate Exec. Doc. ^3, 40th Cong., 2d Sess.; 
Senate Exec. Doc. 13, 41st Cong., 2d Sess. On the constitutional ques- 
tion see particularly Mississippi v. Johnson, 4 Wallace, 475; Georgia v. 
Stanton, 6 ibid., 51; Texas v. White, 7 ibid., 200. Important general refer- 
ences are : Johnston in Lalor^s Cyclopiedia., Ill, 540-556 ; Dunning, 
Essays, 136-252 ; Morse, Lincoln, II, chap. 8 ; Hart, Chase, chap. 13 ; 
Storey, Sumner, chaps. 16 and 18 ; McCall, Stevens, chap. 16 ; Cox, 
Three Decades, chaps. 19-23 ; Chadsey, Struggle betiveen President Johnson 
and Congress over Reconstruction ; Burgess, Reconstruction and the Constitu- 
tion ; Barnes, History of the 3gth Congress; Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, 
II, chaps. 3-12 ; Pierce, Sumner, IV, chap. 51. 



158 FIRST RECONSTRUCTION ACT [March 2 

An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel 
States. 

Whereas no legal State governments or adequate protection 
for life or property now exists in the rebel States of Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, 
Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas ; and whereas it is 
necessary that peace and good order should be enforced in said 
States until loyal and republican State governments can be 
legally established : Therefore, 

Be it enacted . . ., That said rebel States shall be divided 
into military districts and made subject to the military author- 
ity of the United States as hereinafter prescribed, and for that 
purpose Virginia shall constitute the first district ; North Caro- 
lina and South Carolina the second district ; Georgia, Alabama, 
and Florida the third district ; Mississippi and Arkansas the 
fourth district ; and Louisiana and Texas the fifth district. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
the President to assign to the command of each of said districts 
an officer of the army, not below the rank of brigadier-general, 
and to detail a sufficient military force to enable such officer to 
perform his duties and enforce his authority within the district 
to which he is assigned. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty 
of each officer assigned as aforesaid, to protect all persons in 
their rights of person and property, to suppress insurrection, 
disorder, and violence, and to punish, or cause to be punished, 
all disturbers of the public peace and criminals ; and to this 
end he may allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of 
and to try offenders, or, when in his judgment it may be 
necessary for the trial of offenders, he shall have power to 
organize military commissions or tribunals for that purpose, 
and all interference under color of State authority with the 
exercise of military authority under this act, shall be null and 
void. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted. That all persons put under 



1867] FIRST RECONSTRUCTION ACT 1 59 

military arrest by virtue of this act shall be tried without un- 
necessary delay, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be 
inflicted, and no sentence of any military commission or tribu- 
nal hereby authorized, affecting the life or liberty of any person, 
shall be executed until it is approved by the officer in command 
of the district, and the laws and regulations for the government 
of the army shall not be affected by this act, except in so far as 
they conflict with its provisions : Provided, That no sentence 
of death under the provisions of this act shall be carried into 
effect without the approval of the President. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That when the people of 
any one of said rebel States shall have formed a constitution of 
government in conformity with the Constitution of the United 
States in all respects, framed by a convention of delegates 
elected by the male citizens of said State, twenty-one years old 
and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous condition, who 
have been resident in said State for one year previous to the 
day of such election, except such as may be disfranchised for 
participation in the rebellion or for* felony at common law, and 
when such constitution shall provide that the elective franchise 
shall be enjoyed by all such persons as have the qualifications 
herein stated for electors of delegates, and when such constitu- 
tion shall be ratified by a majority of the persons voting on the 
question of ratification who are qualified as electors for delegates, 
and when such constitution shall have been submitted to Con- 
gress for examination and approval, and Congress shall have 
approved the same, and when said State, by a vote of its legis- 
lature elected under said constitution, shall have adopted the 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed 
by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and known as article fourteen, 
and when said article shall have become a part of the Consti- 
tution of the United States said State shall be declared entitled 
to representation in Congress, and senators and representatives 
shall be admitted therefrom on their taking the oath prescribed 
by law, and then and thereafter the preceding sections of this 
act shall be inoperative in said State : Provided, That no person 



l60 TENURE OF OFFICE ACT [March 2 

excluded from the privilege of holding office by said proposed 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, shall be 
eligible to election as a member of the convention to frame a 
constitution for any of said rebel States, nor shall any such 
person vote for members of such convention. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That, until the people of 
said rebel States shall be by law admitted to representation in 
the Congress of the United States, any civil governments which 
may exist therein shall be deemed provisional only, and in all 
respects subject to the paramount authority of the United States 
at any time to abolish, modify, control, or supersede the same ; 
and in all elections to any office under such provisional govern- 
ments all persons shall be entitled to vote, and none others, 
who are entitled to vote, under the provisions of the fifth sec- 
tion of this act ; and no persons shall be eligible to any office 
under any such provisional governments who would be dis- 
qualified from holding office under the provisions of the third 
article of said constitutional amendment. 



No. z^j. Tenure of Office Act 

March 2, 1867 

A BILL " to regulate the tenure of offices " was introduced in the Senate, 
December 3, 1866, the first day of the session, by George H. Wilhams of 
Oregon, and referred to the Joint Select Committee on Retrenchment. On 
the loth a substitute amendment was reported by George F. Edmunds of Ver- 
mont, who also offered the next day a further amendment, being the last five 
sections of the act. The amended bill passed the Senate on the i8th by a 
vote of 29 to 9, 14 not voting. The House, by a vote of 82 to 63, 46 not vot- 
ing, added an amendment striking out the clause excepting cabinet officers 
from the operation of the act, the vote on the passage of the amended bill 
being III to 38, 42 not voting. The Senate refused to concur, but the insist- 
ence of the House on its principal amendment forced the Senate to agree to 
the compromise contained in the first section of the act. The report of the 
conference committee was accepted by the Senate, February 18, by a vote of 
22 to 10, and by the House the following day by a vote of 1 12 to 41, 37 not 



1867] TENURE OF OFFICE ACT 161 

voting. March 2 the bill was vetoed by President Johnson, but was passed 
over the veto the same day, the vote in the Senate being 35 to 11, 6 not vot- 
ing, and in the House 138 to 51, 3 not voting. Sections i and 2 of the 
act were repealed by an act of April 5, 1859, and the remainder by an act of 
March 3, 1887. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 430-432. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong, Globe. See also Senate Exec. Doc. g, 40th Cong., Special Sess. 

Aji Act regidatitig the Tenure of certain Civil Offices. 

Be it enacted . . ., That every person holding any civil 
office to which he has been appointed by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, and every person who shall here- 
after be appointed to any such office, and shall become duly 
qualified to act therein, is, and shall be entitled to hold such 
office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed 
and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided : Pro- 
vided, That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, 
of the Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and 
the Attorney-General, shall hold their offices respectively for 
and during the term of the President by whom they may have 
been appointed and for one month thereafter, subject to removal 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That when any officer 
appointed as aforesaid, excepting judges of the United States 
courts, shall, during a recess of the Senate, be shown, by evi- 
dence satisfactory to the President, to be guilty of misconduct 
in office, or crime, or for any reason shall become incapable or 
legally disqualified to perform its duties, in such case, and in 
no other, the President may suspend such officer and designate 
some suitable person to perform temporarily the duties of such 
office until the next meeting of the Senate, and until the case 
shall be acted upon by the Senate . . . ; and in such case it 
shall be the duty of the President, within twenty days after the 
first day of such next meeting of the Senate, to report to the 
Senate such suspension, with the evidence and reasons for his 
action in the case, and the name of the person so designated to 

M 



1 62 TENURE OF OFFICE ACT [March 2 

perform the duties of such office. And if the Senate shall 
concur in such suspension and advise and consent to the 
removal of such officer, they shall so certify to the President, 
who may thereupon remove such officer, and, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, appoint another person to such 
office. But if the Senate shall refuse to concur in such sus- 
pension, such officer so suspended shall forthwith resume the 
functions of his office, and the powers of the person so perform- 
ing its duties in his stead shall cease, and the official salary and 
emoluments of such officer shall, during such suspension, belong 
to the person so performing the duties thereof, and not to the 
officer so suspended : Provided, however, That the President, in 
case he shall become satisfied that such suspension was made 
on insufficient grounds, shall be authorized, at any time before 
reporting such suspension to the Senate as above provided, to 
revoke such suspension and reinstate such officer in the per- 
formance of the duties of his office. 

Sec. 3. Afid be it further enacted, That the President shall 
have power to fill all vacancies which may happen during the 
recess of the Senate, by reason of death or resignation, by grant- 
ing commissions which shall expire at the end of their next ses- 
sion thereafter. And if no appointment, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, shall be made to such office so vacant 
or temporarily filled as aforesaid during such next session of the 
Senate, such office shall remain in abeyance, without any salary, 
fees, or emoluments attached thereto, until the same shall be 
filled by appointment thereto, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate ; and during such time all the powers and 
duties belonging to such office shall be exercised by such other 
officer as may by law exercise such powers and duties in case 
of a vacancy in such office. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act 
contained shall be construed to extend the term of any office 
the duration of which is limited by law. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall, 
contrary to the provisions of this act, accept any appointment 



1867] TENURE OF OFFICE ACT 1 63 

to or employment in any office, or shall hold or exercise or at- 
tempt to hold or exercise, any such office or employment, he 
shall be deemed, and is hereby declared to be, guilty of a high 
misdemeanor, and, upon trial and conviction thereof, he shall 
be punished therefor by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dol- 
lars, or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both said 
punishments, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That every removal, appoint- 
ment, or employment, made, had, or exercised, contrary to the 
provisions of this act, and the making, signing, sealing, counter- 
signing, or issuing of any commission or letter of authority for 
or in respect to any such appointment or employment, shall be 
deemed, and are hereby declared to be, high misdemeanors, 
and, upon trial and conviction thereof, every person guilty 
thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand 
dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both 
said punishments, in the discretion of the court : Provided, That 
the President shall have power to make out and deliver, after 
the adjournment of the Senate, commissions for all officers 
whose appointment shall have been advised and consented to 
by the Senate. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
the Secretary of the Senate, at the close of each session thereof, 
to deliver to the Secretary of the Treasury, and to each of his 
assistants, and to each of the auditors, and to each of the comp- 
trollers in the treasury, and to the treasurer, and to the register 
of the treasury, a full and complete list, duly certified, of all the 
persons who shall have been nominated to and rejected by the 
Senate during such session, and a like list of all the offices to 
which nominations shall have been made and not confirmed and 
filled at such session. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That whenever the Presi- 
dent shall, without the advice and consent of the Senate, desig- 
nate, authorize, or employ any person to perform the duties of 
any office, he shall forthwith notify the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury thereof; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the 



1 64 ACT OF INDEMNITY [March 2 

Treasury thereupon to communicate such notice to all the 
proper accounting and disbursing officers of his department. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted. That no money shall be 
paid or received from the treasury, or paid or received from 
or retained out of any public moneys or funds of the United 
States, whether in the treasury or not, to or by or for the benefit 
of any person appointed to or authorized to act in or holding or 
exercising the duties or functions of any office contrary to the 
provisions of this act ; nor shall any claim, account, voucher, 
order, certificate, warrant, or other instrument providing for or 
relating to such payment, receipt, or retention, be presented, 
passed, allowed, approved, certified, or paid by any officer of 
the United States, or by any person exercising the functions or 
performing the duties of any office or place of trust under the 
United States, for or in respect to such office, or the exercising 
or performing the functions or duties thereof ; and every person 
who shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be 
deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and, upon trial and con- 
viction thereof, shall be punished therefor by a fine not exceed- 
ing ten thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding ten 
years, or both said punishments, in the discretion of the court. 



No. 58. Act of Indemnity 

March 2, 1867 

By an act of May 11, 1866, amending the habeas corpus act of March 3, 
1863 [No. 32], orders from the President, the Secretary of War, or a military 
commander were declared to be a defence to suits on account of such acts. 
An act of February 5, 1867, gave authority to United States courts to issue the 
writ of habeas corpus in the case of any person restrained of liberty in viola- 
tion of the Constitution or laws of the United States, and extended the appel- 
late jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to all such cases ; while the act of 
March 2, 1867, validated all proclamations and orders of the President respect- 
ing martial law, and acts done under them, from March 4, 1861, to July i, 



186;] ACT OF INDEMNITY 1 65 

1866. The case of Ex parte McCardle raised the question of the legality of 
an arrest under the Civil Rights Act of March 2, 1867. The Supreme Court 
refused to dismiss the case and heard the appeal on its merits. To protect 
the reconstruction policy of Congress from judicial interference at this point, 
an act of March 27, 1868, passed over the veto, took away the right of ap- 
peal from the circuit court conferred by the act of February 5, 1867. A bill 
validating the proclamations of the President, etc., was introduced in the 
House, December 10, 1866, by Bingham of Ohio, and passed February 23, 

1867, by a vote of 112 to 32, 46 not voting. The Senate passed the bill with- 
out amendment March 2, the vote being 36 to 8. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 432, 433. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. For the case of Ex parte 3Ic Cardie see 6 I Valla ce, 324 ; 7 ibid., 
512; see also Jones v. Sezvard, 40 Barbour (N.Y.), 563; 41 ibid., 269; 26 
Howard^s Practice Reports, 433. 

An Act to declare valid and conclusive certain Proclamations of 
the President, and Acts done in Pursuance thereof, or of his 
Orders, ifi the Suppression of the late Rebellion against the 
United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That all acts, proclamations, and orders 
of the President of the United States, or acts done by his author- 
ity or approval after the fourth of March, anno Domini eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one, and before the first day of July, anno 
Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-six, respecting martial law, 
military trials by courts-martial or military commissions, or the 
arrest, imprisonment and trial of persons charged with partici- 
pation in the late rebellion against the United States, or as aiders 
or abettors thereof, or as guilty of any disloyal practice in aid 
thereof, or of any violation of the laws or usages of war, or of 
affording aid and comfort to rebels against the authority of the 
United States, and all proceedings and acts done or had by 
courts-martial or military commissions, or arrests and imprison- 
ments made in the premises by any person by the authority of 
the orders or proclamations of the President, made as aforesaid, 
or in aid thereof, are hereby approved in all respects, legalized 
and made valid, to the same extent and with the same effect as 
if said orders and proclamations had been issued and made, 



l66 COMMAND OF THE ARMY [March 2 

and said arrests, imprisonments, proceedings, and acts had been 
done under the previous express authority and direction of the 
Congress of the United States, and in pursuance of a law thereof 
previously enacted and expressly authorizing and directing the 
same to be done. And no civil court of the United States, or 
of any State, or of the District of Columbia, or of any district 
or territory of the United States, shall have or take jurisdic- 
tion of, or in any manner reverse any of the proceedings had or 
acts done as aforesaid, nor shall any person be held to answer 
in any of said courts for any act done or omitted to be done in 
pursuance or in aid of any of said proclamations or orders, or 
by authority or with the approval of the President within the 
period aforesaid, and respecting any of the matters aforesaid ; 
and all officers and other persons in the service of the United 
States, or who acted in aid thereof, acting in the premises shall 
be held prima facie to have been authorized by the President ; 
and all acts and parts of acts heretofore passed, inconsistent 
with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed. 
Approved, March 2, 1867. 



No. 59. Command of the Army- 
March 2, 1867 

Section 2 of the army appropriation act of March 2, 1867, virtually 
deprived the President, in certain cases, of the command of the army. The 
constitutionality of the provision was debated at some length, but an amend- 
ment offered in the Senate, February 26, by Reverdy Johnson of Maryland, to 
strike out the section was lost by a vote of 8 to 28, and other motions to the 
same effect failed of support. Sections 5 and 6 were added to the bill by 
the Senate, President Johnson approved the bill in order not to defeat the 
appropriations, but he entered his protest against the army provision. The 
section relating to the militia was repealed by acts of January 14 and March 
3, 1869. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 486, 487. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., and 
the Cong. Globe. The important discussion was in the Senate. 



1867] COMMAND OF THE ARMY 1 67 

An Act making appropriations for the siipport of the army for the 
year e?idifig June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and 
for other purposes. 

******* 
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the headquarters of 
the General of the army of the United States shall be at the 
city of Washington, and all orders and instructions relating to 
military operations issued by the President or Secretary of War 
shall be issued through the General of the army, and, in case 
of his inability, through the next in rank. The General of the 
army shall not be removed, suspended, or relieved from com- 
mand, or assigned to duty elsewhere than at said headquarters, 
except at his own request, without the previous approval of the 
Senate ; and any orders or instructions relating to military 
operations issued contrary to the requirements of this section 
shall be null and void ; and any officer who shall issue orders 
or instructions contrary to the provisions of this section shall be 
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor in office; and any officer of 
the army who shall transmit, convey, or obey any orders or 
instructions so issued contrary to the provisions of this section, 
knowing that such orders were so issued, shall be liable to im- 
prisonment for not less than two nor more than twenty years, 
upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction. 
******* 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
the officers of the army and navy, and of the Freedmen's Bureau, 
to prohibit and prevent whipping or maiming of the person, as 
a punishment for any crime, misdemeanor, or offence, by any 
pretended civil or military authority in any State lately in rebel- 
lion until the civil government of such State shall have been 
restored, and shall have been recognized by the Congress of the 
United States. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted. That all militia forces now 
organized or in service in either of the States of Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, 



l68 ABOLITION OF PEONAGE [March 2 

Mississippi, and Texas, be forthwith disbanded, and that the 
further organization, arming, or calling into service of the said 
militia forces, or any part thereof, is hereby prohibited under 
any circumstances whatever, until the same shall be authorized 
by Congress. 

******* 

Approved, March 2, 1867. 



No. 60. Abolition of Peonage 

March 2, 1867 

The annual report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1866 called 
attention to the evils of peonage in New Mexico, and urged Congress " to take 
the matter in hand and deal with it effectually." January 3, 1867, Sumner 
offered in the Senate a resolution directing the Committee on the Judiciary 
" to consider if any further legislation is needed to prevent the enslavement 
of Indians in New Mexico or any system of peonage there, and especially to 
prohibit the employment of the army of the United States in the surrender 
of persons claimed as peons." The resolution was referred to the Committee 
on Military Affairs. A bill to prohibit peonage, introduced January 26 by 
Wilson of Massachusetts, was referred to the same committee, which reported 
the bill on the 28th with an amendment. February 19 a substitute offered by 
Wilson was agreed to and the bill passed. The bill passed the House March 2. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 546. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The proceedings in the House are unimportant. 

An Act to abolish and foj-ever prohibit the System of Peonage in the 
Territory of New Mexico and other Parts of the United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the holding of any person to service 
or labor under the system known as peonage is hereby declared 
to be unlawful, and the same is hereby abolished and forever 
prohibited in the Territory of New Mexico, or in any other Ter- 
ritory or State of the United States ; and all laws, resolutions, 
orders, regulations, or usages of the Territory of New Mexico, 
or of any other Territory or State of the United States, which 
have heretofore established, maintained, or enforced, or by virtue 



1 867] PAYMENTS TO DISLOYAL PERSONS 1 69 

of which any attempt shall hereafter be made to establish, 
maintain, or enforce, directly or indirectly, the voluntary or in- 
voluntary service or labor of any persons as peons, in liquida- 
tion of any debt or obligation, or otherwise, be, and the same 
are hereby, declared null and void ; and any person or persons 
who shall hold, arrest, or return, or cause to be held, arrested, 
or returned, or in any manner aid in the arrest or return of any 
person or persons to a condition of peonage, shall, upon convic- 
tion, be punished by fine not less than one thousand nor more 
than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not less than one 
nor more than five years, or both, at the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
all persons in the military or civil service in the Territory of 
New Mexico to aid in the enforcement of the foregoing section 
of this act; and any person or persons who shall obstruct or 
attempt to obstruct, or in any way interfere with, or prevent the 
enforcement of this act, shall be liable to the pains and penalties 
hereby provided ; and any officer or other person in the military 
service of the United States who shall so offend, directly or in- 
directly, shall, on conviction before a court-martial, be dishon- 
orably dismissed the service of the United States, and shall 
thereafter be ineligible to reappointment to any office of trust, 
honor, or profit under the government. 

Approved, March 2, 1867, 



No. 61. Payments to Disloyal Persons 

March 2, 1867 

A BILL to prohibit payments to disloyal persons was introduced in the 
House, December 20, 1866, by Columbus Delano of Ohio, and passed the 
same day. February 23, 1867, the Senate added the proviso of the act as an 
amendment. A conference committee settled the final form of the bill. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIV, 571. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. There was little discussion of the merits of the bill. 



I/O SECOND RECONSTRUCTION ACT [March 23 

Joint Resolution prohibiting Payment by any Officer of the Gov- 
ernment to any Person not known to have been opposed to the 
Rebellion and in favor of its Suppression. 

Resolved . . ., That until otherwise ordered it shall be un- 
lawful for any officer of the United States government to pay 
any account, claim, or demand against said government, which 
accrued or existed prior to the thirteenth day of April, A.D. 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one, in favor of any person who pro- 
moted, encouraged, or in any manner sustained the late rebel- 
lion ; or in favor of any person who, during said rebellion, was 
not known to be opposed thereto, and distinctly in favor of its 
suppression ; and no pardon heretofore granted, or hereafter to 
be granted, shall authorize the payment of such account, claim, 
or demand, until this resolution is modified or repealed : Pro- 
vided, That this resolution shall not be construed to prohibit the 
payment of claims founded upon contracts made by any of the 
departments, where such claims were assigned or contracted to 
be assigned prior to April first, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, 
to creditors of said contractors, loyal citizens of loyal States, in 
payment of debts incurred prior to March first, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-one. 

Approved, March 2, 1867. 



No. 62. Second Reconstruction Act 

March 23, 1867 

By a resolution of March 7, 1867, the House Committee on the Judiciary 
were instructed " to report a bill declaring who shall call conventions for the 
reorganization of the rebel States, and providing for the registration of voters 
within said rebel States, and all elections for members of said conventions, or 
for the adoption or rejection of constitutions formed by said conventions, or 
for the choice of public officers, State and municipal, until the constitutions of 
said States shall have been approved by Congress, shall be by ballot." A bill 
in accordance with the resolution was reported March 11, and passed the same 
day, the vote being 117 to 27, 16 not voting. The Senate Committee on the 



i867] SECOND RECONSTRUCTION ACT I/I 

Judiciary reported a substitute, which, with further amendments, passed that 
body on the i6th by a vote of 38 to 2. To the bill as thus amended the House 
added further amendments, the principal of which required the approval by a 
majority of the registered voters of the constitution submitted for ratification. 
The bill received its final form from a conference committee. March 23 
President Johnson vetoed the bill, but it was passed over the veto the same 
day, in the House by a vote of 114 to 25, 25 not voting, and in the Senate by 
a vote of 40 to 7. 

References. — Text in U.S. Slatutes at Large, XV, 2-4. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 1st Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The texts of the numerous amendments submitted are in the 
Globe. 

An Act supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to provide for 
the more efficient Government of the Rebel States, ^^ passed Afai-ch 
second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate Res- 
toration. 

Be it enacted , . ., That before the first day of September, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the commanding general in 
each district defined by an act entitled " An act to provide for 
the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 
second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, shall cause a regis- 
tration to be made of the male citizens of the United States, 
twenty-one years of age and upwards, resident in each county 
or parish in the State or States included in his district, which 
registration shall include only those persons who are qualified 
to vote for delegates by the act aforesaid, and who shall have 
taken and subscribed the following oath or affirmation : "I, 

, do solemnly swear (or affirm), in the presence of 

Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State of ; that I 

have resided in said State for months next preceding this 

day, and now reside in the county of , or the parish of , 

in said State (as the case may be) ; that I am twenty-one years 
old ; that I have not been disfranchised for participation in any 
rebellion or civil war against the United States, or for felony 
committed against the laws of any State or of the United States ; 
that I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor 
held any executive or judicial office in any StatC; and afterwards 



1/2 SECOND RECONSTRUCTION ACT [March 23 

engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, 
or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have 
never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United 
States, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member 
of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of 
any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, and 
afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the 
United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof ; 
that I will faithfully support the Constitution and obey the laws 
of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, encour- 
age others so to do, so help me God " ; which oath or affirma- 
tion may be administered by any registering officer. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That after the completion 
of the registration hereby provided for in any State, at such 
time and places therein as the commanding general shall appoint 
and direct, of which at least thirty days' public notice shall be 
given, an election shall be held of delegates to a convention for 
the purpose of establishing a constitution and civil government 
for such State loyal to the Union, said convention in each State, 
except Virginia, to consist of the same number of members as 
the most numerous branch of the State legislature of such State 
in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned among 
the several districts, counties, or parishes of such State by the 
commanding general, giving to each representation in the ratio 
of voters registered as aforesaid as nearly as may be. The 
convention in Virginia shall consist of the same number of 
members as represented the territory now constituting Virginia 
in the most numerous branch of the legislature of said State 
in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned as 
aforesaid. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That at said election the 
registered voters of each State shall vote for or against a con- 
vention to form a constitution therefor under this act. ... If 
a majority of the votes given on that question shall be for a 
convention, then such convention shall be held as hereinafter 
provided ; but if a majority of said votes shall be against a 



i867] SECOND RECONSTRUCTION ACT 1 73 

convention, then no such convention shall be held under this 
act : Provided, That such convention shall not be held unless a 
majority of all such registered voters shall have voted on the 
question of holding such conv^^ntion. 

Sec. 4. Ajid be it further efiacted, That the commanding 
general of each district shall appoint as many boards of regis- 
tration as may be necessary, consisting of three loyal officers or 
persons, to make and complete the registration, superintend the 
election, and make return to him of the votes, lists of voters, 
and of the persons elected as delegates by a plurality of the 
votes cast at said election ; and upon receiving said returns he 
shall open the same, ascertain the persons elected as delegates, 
according to the returns of the officers who conducted said 
election, and make proclamation thereof ; and if a majority of 
the votes given on that question shall be for a convention, the 
commanding general, within sixty days from the date of election, 
shall notify the delegates to assemble in convention, at a time 
and place to be mentioned in the notification, and said con- 
vention, when organized, shall proceed to frame a constitution 
and civil government according to the provisions of this act, 
and the act to which it is supplementary ; and when the same 
shall have been so framed, said constitution shall be submitted 
by the convention for ratification to the persons registered under 
the provisions of this act at an election to be conducted by the 
officers or persons appointed or to be appointed by the com- 
manding general, as hereinbefore provided, and to be held after 
the expiration of thirty days from the date of notice thereof, to 
be given by said convention ; and the returns thereof shall be 
made to the commanding general of the district. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if, according to said 
returns, the constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the 
votes of the registered electors qualified as herein specified, 
cast at said election, at least one half of all the registered voters 
voting upon the question of such ratification, the president of 
the convention shall transmit a copy of the same, duly certi- 
fied, to the President of the United States, who shall forthwith 



174 CESSION OF ALASKA [March 30 

transmit the same to Congress, if then in session, and if not in 
session, then immediately upon its next assembling ; and if it 
shall moreover appear to Congress that the election was one at 
which all the registered and quaHfied electors in the State had 
an opportunity to vote freely and without restraint, fear, or the 
influence of fraud, and if the Congress shall be satisfied that 
such constitution meets the approval of a majority of all the 
qualified electors in the State, and if the said constitution shall 
be declared by Congress to be in conformity with the provisions 
of the act to which this is supplementary, and the other pro- 
visions of said act shall have been complied with, and the said 
constitution shall be approved by Congress, the State shall be 
declared entitled to representation, and senators and representa- 
tives shall be admitted therefrom as therein provided. 

Sec. 6. [Elections to be by ballot ; officers to take oath pre- 
scribed by act of July 2, 1862, &c.] 

Sec. 7. [Expenses of commanding general, how paid.] 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the convention for 
each State shall prescribe the fees, salary, and compensation to 
be pajd to all delegates and other officers and agents herein 
authorized or necessary to carry into eifect the purposes of this 
act not herein otherwise provided for, and shall provide for the 
levy and collection of such taxes on the property in such State 
as may be necessary to pay the same. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the word " article," in 
the sixth section of the act to which this is supplementary, shall 
be construed to mean " section." 



No. 63. Treaty with Russia for the Cession 
of Alaska 

March 30, 1867 

By the fourth article of the treaty of 1824 between the United States and 
Russia, it was agreed that for ten years the vessels of both powers might fish 
and trade in the interior waters on the northwest coast of North America, 



1867] CESSION OF ALASKA 1/5 

both north and south of 54° 40'. Negotiations for the continuance of the 
agreement failed, and the encroachments of American seamen in Russian ter- 
ritory were from time to time the subject of diplomatic correspondence. The 
friendly behavior of Russia toward the United States duriRg the Civil War, 
though joined, doubtless, with an unwillingness on the part of the United 
States to see the power of Russia in North America increase, led to an accept- 
ance of the offer of Russia to sell Alaska. The treaty was communicated to 
the Senate July 16, 1867, and the formal transfer of the territory was made 
October 18. Copies of the treaty and correspondence were laid before the 
House February 17, 1868. The debate in the House raised the question of 
the constitutional relation of the House to treaties involving the appropria- 
tion of money. The preamble of the bill making the appropriation, as it 
passed the House, asserted that the consent of that body was necessary to the 
ratilication of such treaties. The Senate refused to accept the bill in that 
form, and the preamble was modified. The appropriation bill became law 
July 27. Another act of the same date extended the laws of the United 
States relating to customs, commerce, and navigation over Alaska, and estab- 
lished it as a collection district. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 539-543. For the 
documents and correspondence see Senate Exec. Doc. 77, 40th Cong., ist 
Sess. ; House Exec. Docs. 12^ a7id lyy, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. Banks's report in 
favor of ratification is House Report ^y, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. For the House 
proceedings see the Cong. Globe, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. 

The United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor 
of all the Russias, being desirous of strengthening, if possible, 
the good understanding which exists between them, have, for 
that purpose, appointed as their Plenipotentiaries, the President 
of the United States, William H. Seward, Secretary of State ; 
and His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, the Privy 
Counsellor Edward \_Edoiiard'\ de Stoeckl, his Envoy Extraor- 
dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States ; 

And the said Plenipotentiaries, having exchanged their full 
powers, which were found to be in due form, have agreed upon 
and signed the following articles : 

Article I. 
His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias agrees to cede 
to the United States, by this convention, immediately upon the 
exchange of the ratifications thereof, all the territory and domin- 



176 CESSION OF ALASKA [March 30 

ion now possessed by his said Majesty on the continent of 
America and in the adjacent islands, the same being contained 
within the geographical limits herein set forth, to wit: The 
eastern limit is the line of demarcation between the Russian 
and the British possessions in North America, as established 
by the convention between Russia and Great Britain, of Febru- 
ary 28-16, 1825, and described in Articles III and IV of said 
convention, in the following terms : 

" Commencing from the southernmost point of the island 
called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in the parallel 
of 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude, and between the 131st 
and 133d degree of west longitude, (meridian of Greenwich,) 
the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called 
Portland Channel, as far as the point of the continent where it 
strikes the 56th degree of north latitude ; from this last-men- 
tioned point, the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of 
the mountains situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point 
of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, (of the 
same meridian ;) and finally, from the said point of intersection, 
the said meridian line of the 141st degree, in its prolongation as 
far as the Frozen Ocean. 

" IV. With reference to the line of demarcation laid down in 
the preceding article, it is understood — 

" I St. That the island called Prince of Wales Island shall 
belong AvhoUy to Russia," (now, by this cession to the United 
States.) 

" 2d. That whenever the summit of the mountains which 
extend in a direction parallel to the coast from the 56th degree 
of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree 
of west longitude shall prove to be at the distance of more than 
ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the British 
possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to Russia 
as above mentioned, (that is to say, the limit to the possessions 
ceded by this convention,) shall be formed by a line parallel 
to the winding of the coast, and which shall never exceed the 
distance of ten marine leagues therefrom." 



1867] CESSION OF ALASICA 1 77 

The western limit within which the territories and dominion 
conveyed are contained passes through a point in Behring's 
Straits on the parallel of sixty-five degrees thirty minutes north 
latitude, at its intersection by the meridian which passes midway 
between the islands of Krusenstern or Ignalook, and the island 
of Ratmanoff, or Noonarbook, and proceeds due north without 
limitation, into the same Frozen Ocean. The same western 
limit, beginning at the same initial point, proceeds thence in a 
course nearly southwest, through Behring's Straits and Behring's 
Sea, so as to pass midway between the northwest point of the 
island of St. Lawrence and the southeast point of Cape Chou- 
kotski, to the meridian of one hundred and seventy-two west 
longitude ; thence, from the intersection of that meridian, in a 
southwesterly direction, so as to pass midway between the island 
of Attou and the Copper Island of the Kormandorski couplet or 
group, in the North Pacific Ocean, to the meridian of one hun- 
dred and ninety-three degrees west longitude, so as to include 
in the territory conveyed the whole of the Aleutian Islands east 
of that meridian. 

Article II. 

In the cession of territory and dominion made by the preced- 
ing article are included the right of property in all public lots 
and squares, vacant lands, and all public buildings, fortifica- 
tions, barracks, and other edifices which are not private indi- 
vidual property. It is, however, understood and agreed, that 
the churches which have been built in the ceded territory 
by the Russian Government, shall remain the property of such 
members of the Greek Oriental Church resident in the territory 
as may choose to worship therein. Any Government archives, 
papers, and documents relative to the territory and dominion 
aforesaid, which may now be existing there, will be left in the 
possession of the agent of the United States ; but an authenti- 
cated copy of such of them as may be required, will be, at all 
times, given by the United States to the Russian Government, 
or to such Russian officers or subjects as they may apply for. 



178 CESSION OF ALASKA [March 30 

Article III, 

The inhabitants of the ceded territory, according to their 
choice, reserving their natural allegiance, may return to Russia 
within three years ; but if they should prefer to remain in the 
ceded territory, they, with the exception of uncivilized native 
tribes, shall be admitted to the enjoyment of all the rights, advan- 
tages, and immunities of citizens of the United States, and shall 
be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their 
liberty, property, and religion. The uncivilized tribes will be 
subject to such laws and regulations as the United States may 
from time to time adopt in regard to aboriginal tribes of that 
country. 

Article IV. 

His Majesty, the Emperor of all the Russias shall appoint, 
with convenient despatch, an agent or agents for the purpose of 
formally delivering to a similar agent or agents, appointed on 
behalf of the United States, the territory, dominion, property, de- 
pendencies, and appurtenances which are ceded as above, and 
for doing any other act which may be necessary in regard 
thereto. But the cession, with the right of immediate posses- 
sion, is nevertheless to be deemed complete and absolute on 
the exchange of ratifications, without waiting for such formal 
delivery. 

Article V. 

Immediately after the exchange of the ratifications of this 
convention, any fortifications or military posts which may be in 
the ceded territory shall be delivered to the agent of the United 
States, and any Russian troops which may be in the territory 
shall be withdrawn as soon as may be reasonably and conven- 
iently practicable. 

Article "VI. 

In consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United States 
agree to pay at the Treasury in Washington, within ten months 
after the exchange of the ratifications of this convention, to the 



1867] THIRD RECONSTRUCTION ACT 1 79 

diplomatic representative or other agent of His Majesty the 
Emperor of all the Russias, duly authorized to receive the same, 
seven million two hundred thousand dollars in gold. The ces- 
sion of territory and dominion herein made is hereby declared 
to be free and unincumbered by any reservations, privileges, 
franchises, grants, or possessions, by any associated companies, 
whether corporate or incorporate, Russian or any other, or by 
any parties except merely private individual property-holders ; 
and the cession hereby made conveys all the rights, franchises, 
and privileges now belonging to Russia in the said territory or 
dominion, and appurtenances thereto. 

Article VII. 

When this convention shall have been duly ratified by the 
President of the United States, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate, on the one part, and, on the other, by His 
Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, the ratifications shall 
be exchanged at Washington within three months from the date 
hereof, or sooner if possible. 

In faith whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed 
this convention, and thereto affixed the seals of their arms. 

Done at Washington the thirtieth day of March, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven. 

[seal.] William H. Seward. 

[seal.] Edouard de Stoeckl. 



No. 64. Third Reconstruction Act 

July 19, 1867 

The difficulties encountered by the military commanders in enforcing the 
acts of March 2 and 23, 1867, especially in regard to the oath prescribed in 
the second of the two acts, led to the issue on June 20, through the Adjutant 
General's office, and with the approval of all the members of the Cabinet ex- 
cept Stanton, of instructions setting forth the view of the Executive as to the 
meaning and scope of the acts in question. From the standpoint of Congress, 
the instructions were a serious limitation on the effectiveness of the acts. 



l80 THIRD RECONSTRUCTION ACT [July 19 

A bill to interpret and give effect to the reconstruction acts of March 2 
and 23 was reported in the Senate, July 8, by Trumbull of Illinois, from 
the Committee on the Judiciary, but was laid aside on the nth in favor 
of a bill of similar purport which had passed the House. The Senate then 
substituted its own bill for the House bill, the bill in this form passing by 
a vote of 32 to 6. The bill received its final form from a conference com- 
mittee. July 19 President Johnson vetoed the bill, but it was at once passed 
over the veto, in the House by a vote of 109 to 25, 37 not voting, and in the 
Senate by a vote of 30 to 6. A joint resolution of the same date appropriated 
^1,000,000 to carry into effect the reconstruction acts. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 14-16. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. For the opinions of Attorney General Stanbery, May 24 and 
June 12, see Senate Exec. Doc. 14, 40th Cong., 1st Sess. The executive in- 
structions of June 20 are in 'Rxc'h.&xdsion, Messages and Papers 0/ the Presidents, 

VI, 552-556. 

An Act stipplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to provide for 
the more efficient Government of the Rebel States" passed on 
the second day of March, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, 
and the Act sitpplementary thereto, passed on the twenty-third 
day of March, eighteen hundred atid seventy-seven. 

Be it enacted . . ., That it is hereby declared to have been 
the true intent and meaning ... [of the acts of March 2 and 
March 23, 1867] . . ., that the governments then existing in 
the rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and 
Arkansas were not legal State governments; and that thereafter 
said governments, if continued, were to be continued subject 
in all respects to the military commanders of the respective 
districts, and to the paramount authority of Congress. 

Sec. 2. And be it further etiacted, That the commander of any 
district named in said act shall have power, subject to the dis- 
approval of the General of the army of the United States, and 
to have effect till disapproved, whenever in the opinion of such 
commander the proper administration of said act shall require 
it, to suspend or remove from office, or from the performance of 
official duties and the exercise of official powers, any officer or 



1867] THIRD RECONSTRUCTION ACT 181 

person holding or exercising, or professing to hold or exercise, 
any civil or military office or duty in such district under any 
power, election, appointment or authority derived from, or 
granted by, or claimed under, any so-called State or the govern- 
ment thereof, or any municipal or other division thereof, and 
upon such suspension or removal such commander, subject to 
the disapproval of the General as aforesaid, shall have power to 
provide from time to time for the performance of the said duties 
of such officer or person so suspended or removed, by the detail 
of some competent officer or soldier of the army, or by the 
appointment of some other person, to perform the same, and to 
fill vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the General of the 
army of the United States shall be invested with all the powers 
of suspension, removal, appointment, and detail granted in the 
preceding section to district commanders. 

Sec. 4. And be it further etiacted, That the acts of the officers 
of the army already done in removing in said districts persons 
exercising the functions of civil officers, and appointing others 
in their stead, are hereby confirmed : Provided, That any person 
heretofore or hereafter appointed by any district commander to 
exercise the functions of any civil office, may be removed either 
by the military officer in command of the district, or by the 
General of the army. And it shall be the duty of such com- 
mander to remove from office as aforesaid all persons who are 
disloyal to the government of the United States, or who use 
their official influence in any manner to hinder, delay, prevent, 
or obstruct the due and proper administration of this act and 
the acts to which it is supplementary. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the boards of regis- 
tration provided for in the act ... [of March 23, 1867] . . ., 
shall have power, and it shall be their duty before allowing the 
registration of any person, to ascertain, upon such facts or 
information as they can obtain, whether such person is entitled 
to be registered under said act, and the oath required by said 
act shall not be conclusive on such question, and no person 



1 82 THIRD RECONSTRUCTION ACT [July 19 

shall be registered unless such board shall decide that he is 
entitled thereto ; and such board shall also have power to exam- 
ine, under oath, (to be administered by any member of such 
board,) any one touching the qualification of any person claim- 
ing registration ; but in every case of refusal by the board to 
register an applicant, and in every case of striking his name 
from the list as hereinafter provided, the board shall make a 
note or memorandum, which shall be returned with the registra- 
tion list to the commanding general of the district, setting forth 
the grounds of such refusal or such striking from the list : Pro- 
vided, That no person shall be disqualified as member of any 
board of registration by reason of race or color. 

Sec. 6. Aiid be it further enacted, That the true intent and 
meaning of the oath prescribed in said supplementary act is, 
(among other things,) that no person who has been a member 
of the legislature of any State, or who has held any executive 
or judicial office in any State, whether he has taken an oath to 
support the Constitution of the United States or not, and whether 
he w^as holding such office at the commencement of the rebel- 
lion, or had held it before, and who has afterwards engaged in 
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid 
or comfort to the enemies thereof, is entitled to be registered 
or to vote ; and the words " executive or judicial office in any 
State " in said oath mentioned shall be construed to include all 
civil offices created by law for the administration of any general 
law of a State, or for the administration of justice. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the time for complet- 
ing the original registration provided for in said act may, in the 
discretion of the commander of any district, be extended to the 
first day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven ; and 
the boards of registration shall have power, and it shall be their 
duty, commencing fourteen days prior to any election under 
said act, and upon reasonable public notice of the time and 
place thereof, to revise, for a period of five days, the registra- 
tion lists, and upon being satisfied that any person not entitled 
thereto has been registered, to strike the name of such person 



186;] REDUCTION OF THE CURRENCY 1 83 

from the list, and such person shall not be allowed to vote. And 
such board shall also, during the same period, add to such reg- 
istry the names of all persons who at that time possess the 
qualifications required by said act who have not been already 
registered ; and no person shall, at any time, be entitled to 
be registered or to vote by reason of any executive pardon or 
amnesty for any act or thing which, without such pardon or 
amnesty, would disqualify him from registration or voting. 

Sec. 8. Ajid be it further enacted, That section four of said 
last-named act shall be construed to authorize the commanding 
general named therein, whenever he shall deem it needful, to 
remove any member of a board of registration and to appoint 
another in his stead, and to fill any vacancy in such board. 

Sec. 9. A7id be it further enacted, That all members of said 
boards of registration and all persons hereafter elected or ap- 
pointed to office in said military districts, under any so-called 
State or municipal authority, or by detail or appointment of the 
district commanders, shall be required to take and to subscribe 
the oath of office prescribed bylaw for officers of the United States. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That no district com- 
mander or member of the board of registration, or any of the 
officers or appointees acting under them, shall be bound in his 
action by any opinion of any civil officer of the United States. 

Sec. II. And be it further enacted. That all provisions of this 
act and of the acts to which this is supplementary shall be con- 
strued liberally, to the end that all the intents thereof may be 
fully and perfectly carried out. 



No. 65. Act suspending Reduction of the 
Currency 

February 4, 1868 

A BILL to prohibit the further reduction of the currency was introduced in 
the House, November 21, 1867, by Ebon C. IngersoU of Illinois, and referred 
to the Committee of Ways and Means. December 5 the committee was dis- 
charged from further consideration of the bill, and a new bill was reported by 



1 84 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT [March 2-3 

Schenck of Ohio, and recommitted. The bill was reported without amend- 
ment on the 7th and passed, the vote being 127 to 32, 28 not voting. A sub- 
stitute amendment was agreed to by the Senate January 9, 1868, and on the 
15th the bill with further amendments passed, the vote being ;i;^ to 4, 16 not 
voting. The bill received its final form from a conference committee. The 
bill was presented to the President January 23, and became law February 4 
under the ten days rule. 

References. — Texi in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 34. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and the Cong, 
Globe. The financial situation was discussed at especial length in the Senate. 
See also Senate Report 4. 

AN A CT to suspend further Reduction of the Currency. 

Be it enacted . . ., That from and after the passage of this 
act, the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to make any 
reduction of the currency, by retiring or cancelling United States 
notes, shall be, and is hereby, suspended ; but nothing herein 
contained shall prevent the cancellation and destruction of 
mutilated United States notes, and the replacing of the same 
with notes of the same character and amount. 



No. 66. Articles of Impeachment 

March 2-3, 1868 

December 17, 1866, James M. Ashley of Ohio moved in the House to suspend 
the rules for the purpose of reporting from the Committee on Territories a 
resolution for the appointment of a select committee " to inquire whether any 
acts have been done by any officer of the Government of the United States 
which, in contemplation of the Constitution, are high crimes or misdemeanors, 
and whether said acts were designed or calculated to overthrow, subvert, or 
corrupt the Government of the United States, or any department thereof." 
The vote was 90 to 49, but two-thirds being necessary, the motion was lost. 
January 7, 1867, resolutions for the impeachment of President Johnson were 
offered by Benjamin F. Loan and John R. Kelso of Missouri, and referred, 
respectively, to the Committee on Reconstruction and the Committee on the 
Judiciary. On the same day Ashley, as a question of privilege, impeached 
Johnson of high crimes and misdemeanors, charging him "with a usurpation 
of power and violation of law " in having corruptly used the powers of ap- 



I868J ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT 1 85 

pointment, pardon, and veto, " corruptly disposed of public property of the 
United States," and " corruptly interfered in elections, and committed acts 
which, in contemplation of the Constitution, are high crimes and misdemean- 
ors." By a vote of 108 to 39 the charges were referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary for investigation. February 28 the committee reported that, 
from lack of time, it had reached no conclusion. March 7 a resolution sub- 
mitted by Ashley directed the continuance of the investigation, and on the 
29th, on motion of Sidney Clarke of Kansas, the committee was requested to 
report at the first meeting of the House after the recess. November 25 George 
S. Boutvvell of Massachusetts submitted the majority report of the committee. 
The report closed with a resolution that the President " be impeached for high 
crimes and misdemeanors." December 7, by a vote of 57 to 108, the resolu- 
tion was disagreed to. The evidence taken by the Committee on the Judiciary, 
together with the correspondence between Johnson and Grant, was referred 
to the Committee on Reconstruction. February 21, 1868, Stanton communi- 
cated to the House Johnson's order removing him from the office of Secretary 
of War; this, with a resolution for the impeachment of the President, was 
also referred to the Committee on Reconstruction. On the 22d the committee 
reported a resolution recommending impeachment, which was agreed to on 
the 24th by a vote of 128 to 47. Committees were appointed to prepare the 
articles of impeachment and to notify the Senate. The action of the House 
was communicated to the Senate on the 25th. Nine articles of impeachment 
were agreed to by the House March 2, two additional articles being approved 
the following day. On the 4th the articles were read to the Senate, and on 
the 6th an order was entered directing the issuance of a summons to the Presi- 
dent to file an answer to the charges, the order being made returnable March 13. 
A request for more time in which to prepare an answer secured an extension 
to the 23d. On that date the answer of the President was read. A request 
for thirty days in which to complete preparations for the trial was denied, the 
vote being 12 to 41. The trial began March 30, Chief Justice Chase presid- 
ing, and continued until May 12. May 16 a vote was taken on Article XI of 
the charges. The vote was 35 " guilty," 19 " not guilty." Votes on Articles II 
and III, May 26, showed the same result, whereupon the court, by a vote of 
34 to 16, adjourned sine die. Judgment of acquittal was entered on the three 
articles on which a vote was taken. 

For convenience, the votes on the adoption of the several articles are given 
in brackets after each article in the text following. 

References. — Text in House Journal, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., 440-465. For 
the proceedings prior to the trial see the House and Senate Journals and the 
Cong. Globe ; for the trial see the Senate Journal, Appendix, and the Cong. 
Globe, Supplement. The report of November 25, 1867, is House Report 7, 40th 
Cong., 1st Sess. On the Stanton-Grant episode see House Exec. Docs.^y, i^g, 



1 86 ARTICLES OF IMrEACHMENT [March 2-3 

16S and 18 J, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. Extracts from Johnson's interviews and 
speeches are given in McPherson, Reconstruction, 44-63, 127-143. The early 
impeachment testimony is in House Report 7, ^o\.\\ Cong., 1st Sess.; for the 
articles and fuller testimony see House Misc. Doc. gr, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. 
On the conduct of the impeachment see House Reports 74 and /j, Senate 
Report ^g, and Senate Misc. Doc. 43, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. Important general 
references are De Witt, Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson ; Foster, 
Commentaries on the Constitution, I, 546-564; Dunning, Essays, 253-303; 
Storey, Sumner, chap. 19; McCall, Thaddeus Stevens, chaps. 15 and 18; 
Sherman, Recollections, I, chap. 19; Cox, Three Decades, chap. 32; Blaine, 
Twenty Years of Congress, II, chap. 14. 

Article I. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, on the twenty-first day of February, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, at 
Washington, in the District of Columbia, unmindful of the high 
duties of his office, of his oath of office, and of the requirement 
of the Constitution that he should take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed, did unlawfully, and in violation of the Con- 
stitution and laws of the United States, issue an order in writing 
for the removal of Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secre- 
tary for the Department of War, said Edwin M. Stanton having 
been theretofore duly appointed and commissioned, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, as 
such Secretary, and said Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, on the twelfth day of August, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, and during 
the recess of said Senate, having suspended by his order Edwin 
M. Stanton from said office, and within twenty days after the 
first day of the next meeting of said Senate, that is to say, on 
the twelfth day of December in the year last aforesaid, having 
reported to said Senate such suspension with the evidence and 
reasons for his action in the case and the name of the person 
designated to perform the duties of such office temporarily until 
the next meeting of the Senate, and said Senate thereafterwards 
on the thirteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, having duly considered 
the evidence and reasons reported by said Andrew Johnson for 



i868] ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT 1 8/ 

said suspension, and having refused to concur in said suspen- 
sion, whereby and by force of the provisions of an act entitled 
" An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed 
March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, said Edwin 
M. Stanton did forthwith resume the functions of his office, 
whereof the said Andrew Johnson had then and there due notice, 
and said Edwin M. Stanton, by reason of the premises, on said 
twenty-first day of February, being lawfully entitled to hold 
said office of Secretary for the Department of War, which said 
order for the removal of said Edwin M. Stanton is in substance 
as follows, that is to say : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868. 

Sir : By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by 
the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed from 
office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions as such will 
terminate upon receipt of this communication. 

You will transfer to Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant 
General of the army, who has this day been authorized and empowered to 
act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other pub- 
lic property now in your custody and charge. 

Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. 

To the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Washington, D.C. 

Which order was unlawfully issued with intent then and there 
to violate the act entitled " An act regulating the tenure of cer- 
tain civil offices," passed March second, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-seven, and with the further intent, contrary to the provi- 
sions of said act, in violation thereof, and contrary to the 
provisions of the Constitution of the United States, and without 
the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, the 
said Senate then and there being in session, to remove said 
Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary for the Depart- 
ment of War, the said Edwin M. Stanton being then and there 
Secretary for the Department of War, and being then and there 
in the due and lawful execution and discharge of the duties of 
said office, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the 



1 88 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT [March 2-3 

United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a 
high misdemeanor in office. 

[Agreed to, 127 to 42, 20 not voting.] 

Article II. That on said twenty-first day of February . . . 
[1868] . . ., at Washington, in the District of Columbia, said 
Andrew Johnson . . ., unmindful of the high duties of his office, 
of his oath of office, and in violation of the Constitution of the 
United States, and contrary to the provisions of . . . [the Ten- 
ure of Office Act] . . ., without the advice and consent of the 
Senate of the United States, said Senate then and there being 
in session, and without authority of law, did, with intent to vio- 
late the Constitution of the United States, and the act aforesaid, 
issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority 
in substance as follows, that is to say : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D.C., February 21, 1868. 

Sir: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from 
office as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and 
empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, and will immediately enter 
upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office. 

Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records, books, 
papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge. 

Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. 

To Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, 
Adjutant General U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. 

Then and there being no vacancy in said office of Secretary 
for the Department of War, whereby said Andrew Johnson, 
President of the United States, did then and there commit and 
was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. 

[Agreed to, 124 to 41, 24 not voting.] 

Article III. That said Andrew Johnson, . . , [on February 
21, 1868] . . ., at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did 
commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office in this, 
that, without authority of law, while the Senate of the United 
States was then and there in session, he did appoint one Lorenzo 



i868] ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT 1 89 

Thomas to be Secretary for the Department of War ad interim, 
without the advice and consent of the Senate, and with intent 
to violate the Constitution of the United States, no vacancy hav- 
ing happened in said office of Secretary for the Department of 
War during the recess of the Senate, and no vacancy existing 
in said office at the time. . . . 

[Agreed to, 124 to 40, 25 not voting.] 

Article IV. That said Andrew Johnson, . . . [on February 
21, 1868] . . ., at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did 
unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, and with other 
persons to the House of Representatives unknown, with intent, 
by intimidation and threats, unlawfully to hinder and prevent 
Edwin M. Stanton, then and there the Secretary for the De- 
partment of War, duly appointed under the laws of the United 
States, from holding said office of Secretary for the Department 
of War, contrary to and in violation of the Constitution of the 
United States, and of the provisions of an act entitled " An act 
to define and pvmish certain conspiracies," approved July thirty- 
first, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, whereby said Andrew 
Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there 
commit and was guilty of a high crime in office. 

[Agreed to, 127 to 42, 20 not voting.] 

Article V. That said Andrew Johnson, . . . [on February 
21, 1868] . . ., and on divers other days and times in said 
year , . . [before March 2, 1868] . . ., at Washington, in the 
District of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo 
Thomas, and with other persons to the House of Representatives 
unknown, to prevent and hinder the execution of . . . [the 
Tenure of Office Act] . . ., and in pursuance of said conspiracy 
did unlawfully attempt to prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then and 
there being Secretary for the Department of War, duly appointed 
and commissioned under the laws of the United States, from 
holding said office, whereby the said Andrew Johnson, President 
of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty 
of a high misdemeanor in office. 

[Agreed to, 127 to 42, 20 not voting,] 



I go ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT [March 2-3 

Article VI. That said Andrew Johnson, . . . [on February 
21, 1868] . . ., at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did 
unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, by force to seize, 
take, and possess the property of the United States in the 
Department of War, and then and there in the custody and charge 
of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary for said department, contrary 
to the provisions of . . . [the act of July 31, 1861] . . ., and 
with intent to violate and disregard . . . [the Tenure of Office 
Act] . . ., whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, did then and there commit a high crime in office. 

[Agreed to, 127 to 42, 20 not voting.] 

Article VII. That said Andrew Johnson, . . . [on February 
21, 1868] . . ., at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did 
unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas with intent un- 
lawfully to seize, take, and possess the property of the United 
States in the Department of War, in the custody and charge of 
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary for said department, with intent 
to violate and disregard . . . [the Tenure of Office Act] . . ., 
whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, 
did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in office. 

[Agreed to, 127 to 42, 20 not voting.] 

Article VIII. That said Andrew Johnson, . . . with intent 
unlawfully to control the disbursements of the moneys appro- 
priated for the military service and for the Department of 
War, . . . [on February 21, 1868] . . ., at Washington, in the 
District of Columbia, did unlawfully and contrary to the pro- 
visions of . . . [the Tenure of Office Act] . . ., and in violation 
of the Constitution of the United States, and without the advice 
and consent of the Senate of the United States, and while the 
Senate was then and there in session, there being no vacancy 
in the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and with 
intent to violate and disregard the act aforesaid, then and there 
issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority 
in writing, in substance as follows, that is to say : 

[Here follows the letter of appointment as in Article II.] 

Whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United 



1868] ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT 191 

States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high 
misdemeanor in office. 

[Agreed to, 127 to 42, 20 not voting.] 

Article IX. That said Andrew Johnson, . . . [on February 
22, 1868] . . ., at Washington, in the District of Columbia, in 
disregard of the Constitution and the laws of the United States 
duly enacted, as commander-in-chief of the army of the United 
States, did bring before himself then and there William H. 
Emory, a major general by brevet in the army of the United 
States, actually in command of the department of Washington 
and the military forces thereof, and did then and there, as such 
commander-in-chief, declare to and instruct said Emory that 
part of a law of the United States, passed March second, eigh- 
teen hundred and sixty-seven, entitled " An act making appro- 
priations for the support of the army for the year ending Jmie 
thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and for other pur- 
poses," especially the second section thereof, which provides, 
among other things, that " all orders and instructions relating to 
military operations issued by the President or Secretary of War 
shall be issued through the General of the army, and in case of 
his inability through the next in rank," was unconstitutional, and 
in contravention of the commission of said Emory, and which 
said provision of law had been theretofore duly and legally pro- 
mulgated by General Order for the government and direction 
of the army of the United States, as the said Andrew Johnson 
then and there well knew, with intent thereby to induce said 
Emory in his official capacity as commander of the department 
of W^ashington to violate the provisions of said act, and to take 
and receive, act upon, and obey such orders as he, the said 
Andrew Johnson, might make and give, and which should not 
be issued through the General of the army of the United States, 
according to the provisions of said act, and with the further in- 
tent thereby to enable him, the said Andrew Johnson, to prevent 
the execution of . . . [the Tenure of Office Act] . . ., and to 
unlawfully prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then being Secretary for 
the Department of War, from holding said office and discharg- 



192 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT [March 2-3 

ing the duties thereof, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President 
of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty 
of a high misdemeanor in office. 

[Agreed to, 108 to 41, 40 not voting.] 

Article X. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office and the 
dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courte- 
sies which ought to exist and be maintained between the execu- 
tive and legislative branches of the government of the United 
States, designing and intending to set aside the rightful 
authority and powers of Congress, did attempt to bring into 
disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress 
of the United States, and the several branches thereof, to im- 
pair and destroy the regard and respect of all the good people 
of the United States for the Congress and legislative power 
thereof, (which all officers of the government ought inviolably 
to preserve and maintain,) and to excite the odium and resent- 
ment of all the good people of the United States against Con- 
gress and the laws by it duly and constitutionally enacted ; and in 
pursuance of his said design and intent openly and publicly, and 
before divers assemblages of the citizens of the United States 
convened in divers parts thereof to meet and receive said 
Andrew Johnson as the Chief Magistrate of the United States, 
did, . . . [on August 18, 1866] . , ., and on divers other days 
and times, as well before as afterward, make and deliver with a 
loud voice certain intemperate, inflammatory and scandalous 
harangues, and did therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces 
as well against Congress as the laws of the United States duly 
enacted thereby, amid the cries, jeers, and laughter of the mul- 
titudes then assembled and in hearing, which are set forth in 
the several specifications hereinafter written, in substance and 
effect, that is to say : 

Specification First. In this, that at Washington, in the 
District of Columbia, in the Executive Mansion, to a committee 
of citizens who called upon the President of the United States, 
speaking of and concerning the Congress of the United States, 



i868] ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT 1 93 

said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, hereto- 
fore, to wit, . . . [on August 18, 1866] . . ., did, in a loud voice, 
declare in substance and effect, among other things, that is to 
say : 

" So far as the executive department of the government is 
concerned, the effort has been made to restore the Union, to 
heal the breach, to pour oil into the wounds which were conse- 
quent upon the struggle, and (to speak in common phrase) to 
prepare, as the learned and wise physician would, a plaster heal- 
ing in character and coextensive with the wound. We thought, 
and we think, that we had partially succeeded ; but as the 
work progresses, as reconstruction seemed to be taking place, 
and the country was becoming reunited, we found a disturbing 
and marring element opposing us. In alluding to that element, 
I shall go no further than your convention and the distinguished 
gentleman who has delivered to me the report of its proceed- 
ings. I shall make no reference to it that I do not believe the 
time and occasion justify. 

" We have witnessed in one department of the government 
every endeavor to prevent the restoration of peace, harmony, 
and union. We have seen hanging upon the verge of the gov- 
ernment, as it were, a body called, or which assumes to be, the 
Congress of the United States, while in fact it is a Congress of 
only a part of the States. We have seen this Congress pretend 
to be for the Union, when its every step and act tended to per- 
petuate disunion and make a disruption of the States inevitable. 
* * * We have seen Congress gradually encroach, step by 
step, upon constitutional rights, and violate, day after day and 
month after month, fundamental principles of the government. 
We have seen a Congress that seemed to forget that there was 
a limit to the sphere and scope of legislation. We have seen a 
Congress in a minority assume to exercise power which, allowed 
to be consummated, would result in despotism or monarchy 
itself." 

Specification Second. In this, that at Cleveland, in the 
State of Ohio, heretofore, to wit,. . . [on September 3, 1866] 



194 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT [March 2-3 

. . ., before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said 
Andrew Johnson, . . . speaking of and concerning the Congress 
of the United States, did, in a loud voice, declare in substance 
and effect, among other things, that is to say : 

" I will tell you what I did do. I called upon your Congress 
that is trying to break up the government." 

******* 

" In conclusion, beside that. Congress had taken much pains 
to poison their constituents against him. But what had Con- 
gress done ? Have they done anything to restore the union of 
these States ? No ; on the contrary, they had done everything 
to prevent it ; and because he stood now where he did when the 
rebellion commenced, he had been denounced as a traitor. Who 
had run greater risks or made greater sacrifices than himself ? 
But Congress, factious and domineering, had undertaken to 
poison the minds of the American people." 

Specification Third. In this, that at St. Louis, in the 
State of Missouri, heretofore, to wit, . . . [on September 8, 
1866] . . ., before a public assemblage of citizens and others, 
said Andrew Johnson, . . . speaking of and concerning the 
Congress of the United States, did, in a loud voice, declare, in 
substance and effect, among other things, that is to say : 

" Go on. Perhaps if you had a word or two on the subject of 
New Orleans you might understand more about it than you do. 
And if you will go back — if you will go back and ascertain the 
cause of the riot at New Orleans perhaps you will not be so 
prompt in calling out ' New Orleans.' If you will take up the 
riot at New Orleans and trace it back to its source or its imme- 
diate cause, you will find out who was responsible for the blood 
that was shed there. If you will take up the riot at New 
Orleans and trace it back to the radical Congress, you will find 
that the riot at New Orleans was substantially planned. If you 
will take up the proceedings in their caucuses you will under- 
stand that they there knew that a convention was to be called 
which was extinct by its power having expired ; that it was said 
that the intention was that a new government was to be organ- 



iS68] ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT I95 

ized, and on the organization of that government the intention 
was to enfranchise one portion of the population, called the col- 
ored population, who had just been emancipated, and at the 
same time disfranchise white men. When you design to talk 
about New Orleans you ought to understand what you are talk- 
ing about. When you read the speeches that were made, and 
take up the facts on the Friday and Saturday before that con- 
vention sat, you will there find that speeches were made incen- 
diary in their character, exciting that portion of the population, 
the black population, to arm themselves and prepare for the 
shedding of blood. You will also find that that convention did 
assemble in violation of law, and the intention of that conven- 
tion was to supersede the reorganized authorities in the State 
government of Louisiana, which had been recognized by the 
government of the United States ; and every man engaged in 
that rebellion in that convention, with the intention of supersed- 
ing and upturning the civil government which had been recog- 
nized by the government of the United States, I say that he was 
a traitor to the Constitution of the United States, and hence you 
find that another rebellion was commenced, having its origiti in 
the radical Congress. 

" So much for the New Orleans riot. And there was the 
cause and the origin of the blood that was shed ; and every 
drop of blood that was shed is upon their skirts and they are 
responsible for it. I could test this thing a little closer, but 
will not do it here to-night. But when you talk about the 
causes and consequences that resulted from proceedings of that 
kind, perhaps, as I have been introduced here, and you have 
provoked questions of this kind, though it does not provoke 
me, I will tell you a few wholesome things that have been 
done by this radical Congress in connection with New Orleans 
and the extension of the elective franchise. 

" I know that I have been traduced and abused. I know it 
has come in advance of me here as elsewhere — that I have 
attempted to exercise an arbitrary power in resisting laws that 



196 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT [March 2-3 

were intended to be forced upon the government ; that I had 
exercised that power ; that I had abandoned the party that 
elected me, and that I was a traitor, because I exercised the 
veto power in attempting and did arrest for a time a bill that 
was called a ' Freedman's Bureau ' bill ; yes, that I was a 
traitor. And I have been traduced, I have been slandered, I 
have been maligned, I have been called Judas Iscariot, and all 
that. Now, my countrymen here to-night, it is very easy to 
indulge in epithets ; it is easy to call a man Judas, and cry out 
traitor ; but when he is called upon to give arguments and facts 
he is very often found wanting. Judas Iscariot — Judas. There 
was a Judas, and he was one of the twelve apostles. Oh yes, 
the twelve apostles had a Christ. The twelve apostles had a 
Christ, and he never could have had a Judas unless he had 
had twelve apostles. If I have played the Judas, who has 
been my Christ that I have played the Judas with ? Was it 
Thad. Stevens ? Was it Wendell Phillips ? Was it Charles 
Sumner ? These are the men that stop and compare them- 
selves with the Saviour ; and everybody that differs with them 
in opinion, and to try to stay and arrest their diabolical and 
nefarious policy, is to be denounced as a Judas." 

******* 

"Well, let me say to you, if you will stand by me in this 
action, if you will stand by me in trying to give the people a fair 
chance — soldiers and citizens — to participate in these offices, 
God being willing, I will kick them out. I will kick them out 
just as fast as I can. 

" Let me say to you, in concluding, that what I have said I 
intended to say. I was not provoked into this, and I care not 
for their menaces, the taunts, and the jeers. I care not for 
threats. I do not intend to be bullied by my enemies nor 
overawed by my friends. But God willing, with your help, I 
will veto their measures whenever any of them come to me." 

Which said utterances, declarations, threats, and harangues, 
highly censurable in any, are peculiarly indecent and unbe- 
coming in the Chief Magistrate of the United States, by means 



i868] ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT I97 

whereof said Andrew Johnson has brought the high office of 
the President of the United States into contempt, ridicule, and 
disgrace, to the great scandal of all good citizens, whereby said 
Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did commit 
and was then and there guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. 

[Agreed to, 88 to 44, 57 not voting.] 

Article XI. That said Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office and 
of his oath of office, and in disregard of the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, did heretofore, to wit: on the 18th 
day of August, 1866, at the city of Washington, and the District 
of Columbia, by public speech, declare and affirm, in substance, 
that the thirty-ninth Congress of the United States was not a 
Congress of the United States authorized by the Constitution 
to exercise legislative power under the same ; but, on the con- 
trary, was a Congress of only part of the States, thereby 
denying and intending to deny that the legislation of said 
Congress was valid or obligatory upon him, the said Andrew 
Johnson, except in so far as he saw fit to approve the same, 
and also thereby denying and intending to deny the power of 
the said thirty-ninth Congress to propose amendments to the 
Constitution of the United States ; and in pursuance of said 
declaration, the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
States, afterward, to wit, on the 21st day of February, 1868, at 
the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, did unlaw- 
fully and in disregard of the requirements of the Constitution, 
that he should take care that the laws be faithfully executed, 
attempt to prevent the execution of . . . [the Tenure of Office 
Act] . . ., by unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting 
to devise and contrive, means by which he should prevent Edwin 
M. Stanton from forthwith resuming the functions of the office 
of Secretary for the Department of War, notwithstanding the 
refusal of the Senate to concur in the suspension theretofore made 
by said Andrew Johnson of said Edwin M. Stanton from said 
office of Secretary for the Department of War, and also by further 
unlawfully devising and contriving and attempting to devise and 



198 FOURTil RECONSTRUCTION ACr [March 11 

contrive means then and there to prevent the execution of 
an act entitled " An act making appropriations for the support 
of the army for tlie fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, and for 
other purposes," approved March 2, 1867, and also to prevent 
the execution of an act entitled " An act to provide for tlie 
more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 
2, 1867 ; whereby the said Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, did then, to wit, on the 21st day of February, 
1868, at the city of Washington, commit and was guilty of a 
high misdemeanor in office, 

[Agreed to, 109 to 32, 48 not voting.] 



No. 67. Fourth Reconstruction Act 

March 11, 1868 

A BILL " to facilitate the restoration of the late rebel States " was intro- 
duced in the House, December 5, 1S67, by Ashley of Ohio, and referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary. On the iSth the bill was withdrawn in favor 
of a bill of similar purport, substantially identical with the act as passed, 
brought forward by Thaddeus Stevens. The latter bill passed the House the 
same day by a vote of 104 to 37, 47 not voting. The bill was not at once con- 
sidered in the Senate. The rejection, February 4, 1868, of the proposed con- 
stitution of Alabama, however, when " the registered voters refrained from 
voting upon the question of ratilication in sufficient numbers to reduce the 
vote to several thousand less than half the registration," hastened action. 
A substitute for the House bill was reported February 17, and on the 26th 
was agreed to, the vote being 28 to 6. The House, by a vote of 96 to 32, 
61 not voting, concurred. March 11 the bill became law by the ten days 
rule. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 41. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and the Cong. 
Globe. The text of Ashley's bill is in the Globe, December 18, House pro- 
ceedings. On elections in the Southern States see House Exec. Doc. 2C)i, 40th 
Cong., 1st Sess.; annual report of the Secretary of War, 1868. 



iSGS] RESTORATION OF ARKANSAS 1 99 

An Acl to amend the Act passed March twenty-third, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven, entitled " An Act supplementary to 
* an act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel 
States,^ passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, 
and to facilitate their restoration." 

Be it enacted . . ., That hereafter any election authorized 
by the act [of March 23, 1867] . . ., shall be decided by a 
majority of the votes actually cast ; and at the election in which 
the question of the adoption or rejection of any constitution is 
submitted, any person duly registered in the State may vote in 
the election district where he offers to vote when he has resided 
therein for ten days next preceding such election, upon pre- 
sentation of his certificate of registration, his affidavit, or other 
satisfactory evidence, under such regulations as the district 
commanders may prescribe. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That the constitutional 
convention of any of the States mentioned in the acts to which 
this is amendatory may provide that at the time of voting upon 
the ratification of the constitution the registered voters may 
vote also for members of the House of Representatives of the 
United States, and for all elective officers provided for by the 
said constitution ; and the same election officers who shall make 
the return of the votes cast on the ratification or rejection of 
the constitution, shall enumerate and certify the votes cast for 
members of Congress. 



No. 68. Act admitting Arkansas to Repre- 
sentation in Congress 

June 22, 1868 

Under Lincoln's proclamation of December 8, 1863 [No. 35], Arkansas 
formed a State p;overnment, hut its representatives were refused admittance by 
Congress, and the joint resolution of February 8, 1865 [No. 43], included the 
State in the list of those whose electoral votes should not be counted. The 



200 RESTORATION OF ARKANSAS [June 22 

reconstruction government was, however, recognized by President Johnson, 
and the State was counted in the list of those whose legislatures had ratified 
the Thirteenth Amendment. The first reconstruction act of March 2, 1867 
[No. 56], placed Arkansas in the fourth military division, and the rehabilita- 
tion of the State proceeded under the military government. The narrow 
majority in favor of the ratification of the State constitution, March 13, 1868, 
led to the introduction of a bill to admit Arkansas to representation in Con- 
gress. The bill was reported in the House, May 7, by Thaddeus Stevens, 
from the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, and passed the next day by 
a vote of no to 32, 48 not voting. In the Senate an amendment prohibiting 
the abridgment of the elective franchise, etc., on account of race or color was 
agreed to, June I, by a vote of 26 to 14, and the bill passed, the final vote be- 
ing 34 to 8. The House refused to concur, and the bill received its final form 
from a conference committee. The report of the committee was agreed to by 
the Senate June 6, and by the House June 8. On the 20th the bill was 
vetoed by President Johnson, but was passed over the veto, in the House the 
same day by a vote of in to 31, 48 not voting, and in the Senate June 22, by 
a vote of 30 to 7. Senators from the State qualified June 23, and Repre- 
sentatives June 24. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 72. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and the Cong. 
Globe. On the election in Arkansas see House Exec. Doc. 278 ; on the ratifi- 
cation of the Fourteenth Amendment, Hotise Misc. Doc. Ji8, ibid. 

AN ACT to admit the State of Arkansas to representation in 
Congress. 

Whereas the people of Arkansas, in pursuance of the pro- 
visions of an act entitled " An act for the more efficient gov- 
ernment of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven, and the acts supplementary thereto, 
have framed and adopted a constitution of State government, 
which is republican, and the legislature of said State has duly 
ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
proposed by the thirty-ninth Congress, and known as article 
fourteen : Therefore, 

Be it enacted . . ., That the State of Arkansas is entitled 
and admitted to representation in Congress as one of the States 
of the Union upon the following fundamental condition : That 
the constitution of Arkansas shall never be so amended or 



l868] RESTORATION OF CERTAIN STATES 201 

changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the 
United States of the right to vote who are entitled to vote by 
the constitution herein recognized, except as a punishment for 
such crimes as are now felonies at common law, whereof they 
shall have been duly convicted, under laws equally applicable 
to all the inhabitants of said State : Provided, That any altera- 
tion of said constitution prospective in its effect may be made 
in regard to the time and place of residence of voters. 



No. 69. Act admitting North Carolina, South 
Caroh'na, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and 
Florida to Representation in Congress 

June 25, 1868 

As a result of the vote on the ratification of the State constitution of Ala- 
bama, a bill to restore Alabama to the Union was introduced in the House, 
March 10, 1868, by Thaddeus Stevens, A substitute for this bill passed the 
House, but was indefinitely postponed by the Senate. May 11 a bill to admit 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama to repre- 
sentation in Congress was reported by Stevens from the Joint Committee on 
Reconstruction. An amendment striking out Alabama from the list of States 
was rejected by a vote of 60 to 74, 55 not voting. On the 14th the amended 
bill passed the House, the vote being no to 35, 44 not voting. June 10 the 
Senate, by a vote of 22 to 21, included Florida, and the bill with further 
amendments passed, the vote being 31 to 5. The House concurred in the 
Senate amendments by a vote of III to 28, 50 not voting, an amendment 
striking out Florida being rejected by a vote of 45 to 99, 45 not voting. The 
bill was vetoed by President Johnson June 25, and passed over the veto 
the same day, in the House by a vote of 108 to 32, 54 not voting, and in 
the Senate by a vote of 35 to 8. 

Refkrencks.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 73, 74. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. On Alabama see House Exec. Docs. 302 and joj, and House 
Report 21, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. ; on North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, 
and Louisiana, House Exec. Docs. 281,300, awr/jo/, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and 
Senate Exec. Doc. ij, 40 Cong., 3d Sess. ; on Florida, House Misc. Docs. log 
and J 14, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. 



202 RESTORATION OF CERTAIN STATES [June 25 

A)i Act to admit the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, 

Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, to Representation 

i?i Congress. 

Whereas the people of North Carolina, South Carolina, Lou- 
isiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have, in pursuance of the 
provisions of an act entitled " An act for the more efficient gov- 
ernment of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven, and the acts supplementary thereto, 
framed constitutions of State government which are republican, 
and have adopted said constitutions by large majorities of the 
votes cast at the elections held for the ratification or rejection 
of the same: Therefore, 

Be it enacted . . ., That each of the States of North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, 
shall be entitled and admitted to representation in Congress as 
a State of the Union when the legislature of such State shall 
have duly ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and 
known as article fourteen, upon the following fundamental con- 
ditions : That the constitutions of neither of said States shall 
ever be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or 
class of citizens of the United States of the right to vote in 
said State, who are entitled to vote by the constitution thereof 
herein recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as 
are now felonies at common law, whereof they shall have been 
duly convicted under laws equally applicable to all the inhabit- 
ants of said State : Provided, That any alteration of said con- 
stitution may be made with regard to the time and place of 
residence of voters ; and the State of Georgia shall only be 
entitled and admitted to representation upon this further funda- 
mental condition : that the first and third subdivisions of section 
seventeen of the fifth article of the constitution of said State, 
except the proviso to the first subdivision, shall be null and 
void, and that the general assembly of said State by solemn 
public act shall declare the assent of the State to the foregoing 
fundamental condition. 



i868] EIGHT-HOUR LAW 203 

Sec. 2. And be if further enacted, That if the day fixed for the 
first meeting of the legislature of either of said States by the 
constitution or ordinance thereof shall have passed or have so 
nearly arrived before the passage of this act that there shall not 
be time for the legislature to assemble at the period fixed, such 
legislature shall convene at the end of twenty days from the 
time this act takes effect, unless the governor elect shall sooner 
convene the same. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the first section of this 
act shall take efi^ect as to each State, except Georgia, when such 
State shall, by its legislature, duly ratify article fourteen of the 
amendments to the Constitution of the United States, proposed 
by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and as to the State of Georgia 
when it shall in addition give the assent of said State to the 
fundamental condition hereinbefore imposed upon the same ; 
and thereupon the officers of each State duly elected and quali- 
fied under the constitution thereof shall be inaugurated without 
delay ; but no person prohibited from holding office under the 
United States, or under any State, by section three of the pro- 
posed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
known as article fourteen, shall be deemed eligible to any office 
in either of said States, unless relieved from disability as pro- 
vided in said amendment ; and it is hereby made the duty of 
the President within ten days after receiving official information 
of the ratification of said amendment by the legislature of either 
of said States to issue a proclamation announcing that fact. 



No. 70. Eight-Hour Law 

June 25, 1868 

A BILL providing that eight hours should constitute a day's work for 
laborers, workmen, and mechanics in government employ passed the House 
March 28, 1867, but was not acted on in the Senate. The same bill was again 
introduced, January 6, 1868, by Banks of Massachusetts, and passed the same 
day. In the Senate the bill lay on the table until June 3, when it was taken 



204 OATH OF OFFICE [July n 

up, and on the 24th passed, the vote being 26 to 11, 19 not voting. An act of 
August I, 1892, virtually reenacted the act of 1868, with the further provision 
that the eight hours' work should be embraced in one calendar day, and with 
penalties for violation of the act. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 77. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and the Cong. 
Globe. On the operation of the law see Senate Exec. Doc. ^2, 42d Cong., 2d 
Sess.; Senate Reports 41^ and 418, 45th Cong., 2d Sess.; House Report ^20, 
46th Cong., 2d Sess. See also Senate Report g^S and House Report 1267, 52d 
Cong., 1st Sess.; House Report g^'j, 55th Cong., 2d Sess. 

An Act constituting eight Hours a Day's Work for all Laborers, 
Workmen, and Mechanics employed by or 07i behalf of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That eight hours shall constitute a day's 
work for all laborers, workmen, and mechanics now employed, 
or who may be hereafter employed, by or on behalf of the gov- 
ernment of the United States ; and that all acts and parts of acts 
inconsistent with this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Approved, June 25, 1868. 



No. 71. Oath of Office 

July II, 1868 

March 5, 1868, the House having under consideration a resolution for the 
removal of the political disabilities of R. R. Butler, a representative-elect from 
Tennessee, the resolution, on motion of Dawes of Massachusetts, was recom- 
mitted to the Committee on Elections with instructions to report a general bill 
for the removal of such disabilities. The bill was reported the same day, and 
on the 6th passed. Subsequent amendments in the Senate and House were 
unimportant, and the yeas and nays were not called for. An act of February 
15, 1 87 1, allowed those who could not take the oath prescribed by the act of 
July 2, 1862, and who were not rendered ineligible to office by the Fourteenth 
Amendment, to take the oath prescribed by this act. 

References.— Text in C/.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 85. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. 



1 868] EXCLUSION OF ELECTORAL VOTES 205 

An Acf prescribing an Oath of Office to he taken by Persons from 
ivhom legal Disabilities shall have been removed. 

Be it enacted . . ., That whenever any person who has par- 
ticipated in the late rebeUion, and from whom all legal disabilities 
arising therefrom have been removed by act of Congress by a 
vote of two thirds of each house, has been or shall be elected or 
appointed to any office or place of trust in or under the govern- 
ment of the United States, he shall, before entering upon the 
duties thereof, instead of the oath prescribed by the act of July 
two, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, take and subscribe the fol- 
lowing oath or affirmation : I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or 
affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the 
United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic ; that I 
will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this 
obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of 
evasion ; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties 
of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. 

Approved, July 11, 1868. 



No. 72. Joint Resolution excluding Electoral 
Votes of the Late Rebellious States 

July 20, 1868 

A JOINT resolution " excluding from the electoral college votes of States 
lately in rebellion which shall not have been reorganized " vi'as introduced in 
the Senate, June 2, 1868, by George F. Edmunds of Vermont, and referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary. The resolution was reported on the 29th 
with an amendment inserting the clause beginning " nor unless such election 
of electors." The phraseology of the bill rather than its substance was the 
chief occasion of debate. The resolution passed the Senate July 10, by a vote 
of 29 to 5, 23 not voting. The House added the proviso as an amendment, 
and passed the bill on the nth by a vote of 112 to 21, 65 not voting. The 
Senate, by a vote of 19 to 15, concurred. The resolution was vetoed by Presi- 
dent Johnson July 20, and passed over the veto the same day, in the House 
by a vote of 134 to 36, 40 not voting, in the Senate by a vote of 45 to 8. 



206 RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS [July 27 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 257. For the pro- 
ceedings see tlie House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. 

A Resolution excluding from the Electoi-al College Votes of States 
lately in Rebellion, which shall not have been reorganized. 

Resolved . . ., That none of the States whose inhabitants 
were lately in rebellion shall be entitled to representation in the 
electoral college for the choice of President or Vice-President of 
the United States, nor shall any electoral votes be received or 
counted from any of such States, unless at the time prescribed by 
law for the choice of electors the people of such States, pursuant 
to the acts of Congress in that behalf, shall have, since the 
fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, adopted 
a constitution of State government under which a State govern- 
ment shall have been organized and shall be in operation, nor 
unless such election of electors shall have been held under the 
authority of such constitution and government, and such State 
shall have also become entitled to representation in Congress, 
pursuant to the acts of Congress in that behalf : Provided, That 
nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to any 
State which was represented in Congress on the fourth day of 
March, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. 



No. 73. Rights of American Citizens in 
Foreign States 

July 27, 1868 

In his annual message of December 3, 1867, President Johnson called 
attention to the conflict between the American theory of the right of expatria- 
tion and the British theory of indefeasible citizenship, and the complications 
arising from the arrest of naturahzed citizens of the United States in foreign 
countries. Papers relating to arrests of American citizens in Great Britain, 
particularly in connection with the efforts of the British government to sup- 
press the Fenian movement were laid before Congress. In the House the 
portion of the message referred to, together with numerous resolutions and 



i86S] RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS 20/ 

petitions from legislatures and other bodies, and several resolutions calling for 
an inquiry into the rights of American citizens abroad, were referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, which submitted a report on the subject Janu- 
ary 27, 1868. A bill to define and protect the rights of American citizens in 
foreign countries was reported from the committee, February 20, by Nathaniel 
P. Banks of Massachusetts, and recommitted. The bill was again reported 
March 10, and April 20 passed, the vote being 107 to 4, 78 not voting. The 
Senate, by a vote of 30 to 7, struck out the clauses empowering the President 
in certain cases to suspend commercial intercourse with foreign States, and 
to arrest and detain the citizens of such States found in the United States, the 
provisions of the last part of section three of the act being inserted in their 
place. The House concurred in the Senate amendments, and July 27 the act 
was approved. The Republican and Democratic national platforms had al- 
ready, in May and July, declared in favor of expatriation and the protection 
of American subjects abroad. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 223, 224. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The text of the bill reported March 10 is in the Globe of that 
date; Banks's report of January 27 is House Report /j. On the general sub- 
ject see Wharton, International Law Digest, II, chap. 7. 

An Act concerning the rights of American Citizens in foreign 
States. 

Whereas the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent 
right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights 
of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; and whereas in the 
recognition of this principle this government has freely received 
emigrants from all nations, and invested them with the rights of 
citizenship ; and whereas it is claimed that such American citi- 
zens, wath their descendmts, are subjects of foreign states, owing 
allegiance to the governments thereof ; and whereas it is neces- 
sary to the maintenance of public peace that this claim of 
foreign allegiance should be promptly and finally disavowed : 
Therefore, 

Be it enacted . . ., That any declaration, instruction, opin- 
ion, order, or decision of any officers of this government which 
denies, restricts, impairs, or questions the right of expatriation, 
is hereby declared inconsistent with the fundamental principles 
of this government. 



208 FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT [July 28 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all naturalized citizens 
of the United States, while in foreign states, shall be entitled to, 
and shall receive from this government, the same protection of 
persons and property that is accorded to native-born citizens in 
like situations and circumstances. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That whenever it shall be 
made known to the President that any citizen of the United 
States has been unjustly deprived of his liberty by or under the 
authority of any foreign government, it shall be the duty of the 
President forthwith to demand of that government the reasons 
for such imprisonment, and if it appears to be wrongful and in 
violation of the rights of American citizenship, the President 
shall forthwith demand the release of such citizen, and if the 
release so demanded is unreasonably delayed or refused, it shall 
be the duty of the President to use such means, not amounting 
to acts of war, as he may think necessary and proper to obtain 
or effectuate such release, and all the facts and proceedings 
relative thereto shall as soon as practicable be communicated 
by the President to Congress. 

Approved, July 27, 1868. 



No. 74. Fourteenth Amendment to the 
Constitution 

July 28, 1868 

Various propositions to amend the Constitution were submitted in both 
House and Senate during the first session of the thirty-ninth Congress. A 
joint resolution embodying the substance of the provisions of the Fourteenth 
Amendment was reported in the House, April 30, 1866, by Thaddeus Stevens, 
from the Committee on Reconstruction, together with a hill for admission to 
representation of certain States ratifying the same. May 10 the resolution 
passed the House, the vote being 128 to 37, 18 not voting. The third section 
of the House resolution provided that until July 4, 1S70, all persons who had 
voluntarily aided the rebellion should be denied the privilege of voting for 



i868] FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT 2O9 

Representatives in Congress or presidential electors. The Senate, by a vote 
of 43 to o, struck out this section, and recast the amendment in the form in 
which it was later submitted. The resolution passed the Senate June 8, by a 
vote of ^^ to II. On the 13th the House, by a vote of 138 to 36, 10 not vot- 
ing, concurred. The amendment was rejected by Delaware, Maryland, and 
Kentucky, and was not acted on by California. It was also at first rejected by 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana, and Texas, with the result that the ratification of the amend- 
ment was, by the Reconstruction Act of March 2, 1867, made a condition of 
the restoration of those States. The ratifications of New Jersey and Ohio 
were rescinded by the legislatures of those States. July 20, 1868, a proclama- 
tion by Seward announced that the amendment had been ratified by the legis- 
latures of twenty-three States, and " by newly constituted and newly established 
bodies avowing themselves to be and acting as the legislatures of" North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas; and 
that if the ratifications of New Jersey and Ohio " be deemed as remaining of 
full force and effect," the amendment was in force. Thereupon Congress, by 
resolution of July 21, declared the amendment in force and directed its pro- 
mulgation as such. The final proclamation was issued July 28. 

References. — Z't'jf/in Revised Statutes (ed. 1878), 31. For the proceed- 
ings of Congress see the House and Senate Journals, 39th Cong., and 40th 
Cong., 1st and 2d Sess., and the Cong. Globe. The various proclamations are 
in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV. For some early proposals see McPherson, 
Heconstruction, 103. See also Guthrie, Fourteenth Amendment ; Slaughter 
House Cases, 16 Wallace, 36 ; Johnson's message of June 22, 1866. Many 
disabilities under the amendment were removed by special acts; for the gen- 
eral act of May 22, 1872, see No. ()\, post. 

Article XIV. 

Sec. I. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall 
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or 
immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State 
deprive any person of Hfe, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law ; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the sev- 
eral States according to their respective numbers, counting the 



210 FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT [July 28 

whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not 
taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice 
of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, 
Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers 
of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied 
to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one 
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way 
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, 
the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the pro- 
portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to 
the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
such State. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in 
Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold 
any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under 
any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member 
of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a mem- 
ber of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer 
of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, 
shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the 
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Con- 
gress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such 
disability. 

Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pen- 
sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or 
rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obliga- 
tion incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the 
United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any 
slave ; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held 
illegal and void. 

Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 



I868J PROCLAMATION GRANTING FULL AMNESTY 211 

No. j^. Proclamation granting Full Amnesty 

December 25, 1868 

The act of January 21, 1S67, repealing the amnesty provisions of the act 
of July 17, 1862, was regarded by President Johnson as an infringement upon 
the constitutional powers of the executive, and as such was ignored. A proc- 
lamation of September 7, 1867, granted full pardon and amnesty to all per- 
sons who had participated in the late rebellion, with the restoration of 
property and privileges, except as to property in slaves and in cases of legal 
proceedings under the laws of the United States, on condition of taking an 
oath to support the Constitution and the Union, and to "abide by and faith- 
fully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the 
late rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves." The following 
were excluded from the benefits of the proclamation : — 

" First. The chief or pretended chief executive officers, including the Presi- 
dent, the Vice-President, and all Heads of Departments of the pretended Con- 
federate or Rebel Government, and all who were agents thereof in foreign 
States and countries, and all who held, or pretended to hold, in the service 
of the said pretended Confederate Government, a military rank or title above 
the grade of brigadier-general, or naval rank or title above that of captain, 
and all who were or pretended to be Governors of States, while maintaining, 
aiding, abetting, or submitting to and acquiescing in the rebellion. 

" Second. All persons who in any way treated otherwise than as lawful 
prisoners of war persons who in any capacity were employed or engaged in 
the military or naval service of the United States. 

" Third. All persons who, at the time they may seek to obtain the benefits 
of this proclamation, are actually in civil, military, or naval confinement or 
custody, or legally held to bail, either before or after conviction, and all per- 
sons who were engaged directly or indirectly in the assassination of the late 
President of the United States, or in any plot or conspiracy in any manner 
therewith connected." 

A proclamation of July 4, 1868, granted amnesty to all save "such person 
or persons as may be under presentment or indictment, in any court of the 
United States having competent jurisdiction, upon a charge of treason or other 
felony," together with " restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, 
and except also as to any property of which any person may have been legally 
divested under the laws of the United States." The proclamation of Decem- 
ber 25 declared amnesty without conditions. A Senate resolution of January 5, 
1869, requested the President "to transmit to the Senate a copy of any proc- 
lamation of amnesty made by him since the last adjournment of Congress, 
and also to communicate to the Senate by what authority of law the same was 
made." In a message of January iS Johnson transmitted a copy of the proc- 



212 PROCLAMATION GRANTING FULL AMNESTY [Dec. 25 

lamation of December 25, and justified his course in issuing it as warranted 
by the Constitution and in harmony with the action of certain of his prede- 
cessors. The proclamation did not affect the suffrage qualifications in the 
reconstructed States. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 711, 712. See Senate 
Report 2jg, 40th Cong., 3d Sess. 

By the President of the United States of America. 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas the President of the United States has heretofore 
set forth several proclamations, offering amnesty and pardon to 
persons who had been or were concerned in the late rebellion 
against the lawful authority of the government of the United 
States . . .; 

And whereas, the authority of the Federal Government hav- 
ing been reestablished in all the States and Territories within 
the jurisdiction of the United States, it is believed that such 
prudential reservations and exceptions as at the dates of said 
several proclamations were deemed necessary and proper may 
now be wisely and justly relinquished, and that a universal 
amnesty and pardon for participation in said rebellion extended 
to all who have borne any part therein will tend to secure per- 
manent peace, order, and prosperity throughout the land, and 
to renew and fully restore confidence and fraternal feeling 
among the whole people, and their respect for and attachment 
to the National Government, designed by its patriotic founders 
for the general good : 

Now, therefore, be it known that I, ANDREW JOHNSON, 
President of the United States, by virtue of the power and 
authority in me vested by the Constitution, and in the name of 
the sovereign people of the United States, do hereby proclaim 
and declare unconditionally, and without reservation, to all and 
to every person who directly or indirectly participated in the 
late insurrection or rebellion, a full pardon and amnesty for the 
offence of treason against the United States, or of adhering to 
their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of all 



iS6S] VIRGINIA, TEXAS, AND MISSISSIPPI 213 

rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and 
the laws which have been made in pursuance thereof. 



No. 76. Provisional Governments of Virginia, 
Texas, and Mississippi 

February 18, 1869 

A JOINT resolution for the removal of certain civil officers in Virginia and 
Texas was introduced in the Senate July 24, 1868, and passed the same day. 
The bill was not taken up in the House until December 10; it was then re- 
ferred to the Committee on Reconstruction, which reported it, January 18, 1869, 
with an amendment, the amendment being the first two provisos of the act. 
The same day the bill passed the House. The Senate added the proviso 
including Mississippi, in which the House concurred. The resolution became 
law under the ten days rule. 

References. — Text in U. S. Statutes at Large, XV, 344. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate JotD-nals, 40th Cong., 2d and 3d Sess., and 
the Cong. Globe. The debate was unimportant. 

A Resolution respectmg the provisional Governments of Virginia 
and Texas. 

Resolved . . ., That the persons now holding civil offices in 
the provisional governments of Virginia and Texas, who can- 
not take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the act . . . [of 
July 2, 1862] . . ., shall, on the passage of this resolution, be 
removed therefrom ; and it shall be the duty of the district 
commanders to fill the vacancies so created by the appointment 
of persons who can take said oath : Provided, That the pro- 
visions of this resolution shall not apply to persons who by 
reason of the removal of their disabilities as provided in the 
fourteenth amendment to the Constitution shall have qualified 
for any office in pursuance of the act . . . [of July 11, 1868] . . . : 
And provided further, That this resolution shall not take effect 
until thirty days from and after its passage : And it is further 
provided, That this resolution shall be, and is hereby extended 
to, and made applicable to the State of Mississippi. 



214 EXTRADITION ACT [March 3 

No. jj. Extradition Act 

March 3, 1869 

A BILL " to provide for giving effect to treaty stipulations between this and 
foreign governments for the extradition of criminals " was introduced in the 
Senate, December 17, 1868, by Trumbull of Illinois. The bill was called up 
January 11, 1869, but went over until February 5, when it was read and passed. 
The bill passed the House March 2. There was no debate in either house. 

REFERii.N'CES.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XV, 337, 338. The pro- 
ceedings are unimportant. On the general subject see Wharton, International 
Latv Digest, II, chap. 7. 

An Act further to provide for giving Effect to Treaty Stipulatio7is 
between this and foreign Governtnents for the Extradition of 
Criminals. 

Be it enacted . . ., That whenever any person shall have 
been delivered by any foreign government to an agent or agents 
of the United States for the purpose of being brought within 
the United States and tried for any crime of which he is duly 
accused, the President shall have power to take all necessary 
measures for the transportation and safe-keeping of such ac- 
cused person, and for his security against lawless violence, until 
the final conclusion of his trial for the crime[i'] or offences 
specified in the warrant of extradition, and until his final dis- 
charge from custody or imprisonment for or on account of such 
crimes or offences, and for a reasonable time thereafter. And 
it shall be lawful for the President, or such person as he may 
empower for that purpose, to employ such portion of the land 
or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia thereof, 
as may be necessary for the safe-keeping and protection of the 
accused as aforesaid. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person duly ap- 
pointed as agent to receive in behalf of the United States the 
delivery by a foreign government of any person accused of 
crime committed within the jurisdiction of the United States 
and to convey him to the place of his trial, shall be, and 
hereby is, vested with all the powers of a marshal of the United 



1 869] PUBLIC CREDIT 21$ 

States in the several districts through which it may be neces- 
sary for him to pass with such prisoner, so far as such power 
is requisite for his safe-keeping. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That if any person or per- 
sons shall knowingly and wilfully obstruct, resist, or oppose 
such agent in the execution of his duties, or shall rescue, or 
attempt to rescue, such prisoner, whether in the custody of the 
agent aforesaid, or of any marshal, sheriff, jailer, or other 
officer or person to whom his custody may have lawfully been 
committed, every person so knowingly and wilfully offending in 
the premises shall, on conviction thereof before the district or 
circuit court of the United States for the district in which the 
offence was committed, be fined not exceeding one thousand 
dollars, and imprisoned not exceeding one year. 

Approved, March 3, 1869. 



No. 78. Act to strengthen the Public Credit 

March 18, 1869 

A BILL " to strengthen the public credit, and relating to contracts for the 
payment of coin," was introduced in the House, January 20, 1869, by Schenck 
of Ohio, and referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. The bill was 
taken up February 24, and passed the same day by a vote of 121 to 60, 41 not 
voting. On the 27th the bill passed the Senate, but was disposed of by a 
" pocket " veto. The second section of the bill legalized contracts for pay- 
ments in coin. The same bill was again introduced by Schenck March 12, 
and passed the House the same day by a vote of 93 to 48, 52 not voting. A 
bill of somewhat different character had been introduced in the Senate 
March 9. On the 15th the Senate bill was laid aside, and the House bill, 
without the second section, passed, the final vote being 42 to 13. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, i. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 40th Cong., 3d Sess., and 41st Cong., 
1st Sess., and the Cong. Globe. 

An Act to strengthen the public Credit. 

Be it enacted . . ., That in order to remove any doubt as to 
the purpose of the government to discharge all just obligations 



2l6 EQUAL RIGHTS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA [March i8 

to the public creditors, and to settle conflicting questions and 
interpretations of the laws by virtue of which such obligations 
have been contracted, it is hereby provided and declared that 
the faith of the United States is solemnly pledged to the pay- 
ment in coin or its equivalent of all the obligations of the 
United States not bearing interest, known as United States 
notes, and of all the interest-bearing obligations of the United 
States, except in cases where the law authorizing the issue of 
any such obligation has expressly provided that the same may 
be paid in lawful money or other currency than gold and silver. 
But none of said interest-bearing obligations not already due 
shall be redeemed or paid before maturity unless at such time 
United States notes shall be convertible into coin at the option 
of the holder, or unless at such time bonds of the United States 
bearing a lower rate of interest than the bonds to be redeemed 
can be sold at par in coin. And the United States also solemnly 
pledges its faith to make provision at the earliest practicable 
period for the redemption of the United States notes in coin. 
Approved, March i8, 1869. 



No. 79. Equal Rights in the District of 
Columbia 

March 18, 1869 

A BILL to give equal political rights, regardless of color, to persons in the 
District of Columbia, passed the Senate July 17, 1867, and the House July 18, 
but was not acted on by the President. The same bill again passed the Senate 
December 5, and the House December 9, and was again left without action. 
A third bill, in the words of the act following, passed the Senate February 1 1, 
1869, and the House March 2, but failed under a "pocket" veto. The same 
bill was again introduced in the Senate, March 6, by Sumner, and on the 8th 
passed by a vote of 31 to 27. The House passed the bill without amendment 
on the 15th, the vote being iii to 46, 39 not voting, and on the i8th the act 
was approved. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 3. For the proceed- 
ings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., ist Sess., and the Cong. 
Globe. The important debates took place on the earlier bills. 



iS69] AMENDED TENURE OF OFFICE ACT 21/ 

An Act for the further Security of equal Rights in the District of 
Colutnbia. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the word " white," wherever it occurs 
in the laws relating to the District of Columbia, or in the charter 
or ordinances of the cities of Washington or Georgetown, and 
operates as a limitation on the right of any elector of such 
District, or of either of the cities, to hold any office, or to be 
selected and to serve as a juror, be, and the same is hereby, re- 
pealed, and it shall be unlawful for any person or officer to enforce 
or attempt to enforce such limitation after the passage of this act. 

Approved, March i8, 1869. 



No. 80. Amended Tenure of Office Act 

April 5, 1869 

Various bills to amend or repeal the Tenure of Office Act [No. 57] were 
introduced in Congress prior to the act of April 5, but none of them received 
favorable consideration. March 9, 1869, a bill to repeal the act was introduced 
in the House by Benjamin F. Butler of Massachusetts, and passed the same 
day, the vote being 138 to 16, 39 not voting. In the Senate, by a vote of 34 
to 25, the bill was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, who reported 
on the 24th a new bill, which was agreed to by a vote of 37 to 15. On the 
26th, by a vote of 70 to 99, 27 not voting, the House disagreed to the Senate 
amendments, and the bill received its final form from a conference committee. 
The report of the committee was agreed to March 31, in the House by a vote 
of 108 to 67, 21 not voting, in the Senate by a vote of 42 to 8. The act was 
repealed by an act of March 3, 1887. 

References. — Texi in U.S. Stahites at Large, XVI, 6, 7. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., ist Sess,, and the 
Covg. Globe. 

An Act to amend " An Act rcguhiting the Tenure of cej-tain civil 
Offices:' 
Be it enacted . . ., That the first and second sections of an 
act entitled " An act regulating the tenure of certain civil 
offices," passed March two, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, 
be, and the same are hereby, repealed ; and in lieu of said 
repealed sections the following are hereby enacted : 



2l8 AMENDED TENURE OF OFFICE ACT [Aprils 

That every person holding any civil office to which he has 
been or hereafter may be appointed by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, and who shall have become duly qualified 
to act therein, shall be entitled to hold such office during the 
term for which he shall have been appointed, unless sooner 
removed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, or 
by the appointment, with the like advice and consent, of a suc- 
cessor in his place, except as herein otherwise provided. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That during any recess of 
the Senate the President is hereby empowered, in his discretion, 
to suspend any civil officer appointed by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, except judges of the United States 
courts, until the end of the next session of the Senate, and to 
designate some suitable person, subject to be removed in his 
discretion by the designation of another, to perform the duties 
of such suspended officer in the mean time; and such person so 
designated shall take the oaths and give the bonds required by 
law to be taken and given by the suspended officer, and shall, 
during the time he performs his duties, be entitled to the salary 
and emoluments of such office, no part of which shall belong to 
the officer suspended ; and it shall be the duty of the President 
within thirty days after the commencement of each session of 
the Senate, except for any office which in his opinion ought not 
to be filled, to nominate persons to fill all vacancies in office 
which existed at the meeting of the Senate, whether tempora- 
rily filled or not, and also in the place of all officers suspended ; 
and if the Senate during such session shall refuse to advise and 
consent to an appointment in the place of any suspended officer, 
then, and not otherwise, the President shall nominate another 
person as soon as practicable to said session of the Senate for 
said office. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That section three of the 
act to which this is an amendment be amended by inserting 
after the word " resignation," in line three of said section, the 
following : " or expiration of term of office." 

Approved, April 5, 1869. 



1869] VIRGINIA, MISSISSIPPI, AND TEXAS 219 

No. 81. Submission of the Constitutions of 
Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas 

April 10, i86g 

In a message of April 7, 1869, President Grant recommended that provi- 
sion be made for a vote in Virginia on the State constitution agreed upon by 
a convention April 17, 1868, and for the election of State officers, the State 
to be restored on the approval of the constitution by Congress. He further 
raised the question whether the rejected constitution of Mississippi should not 
be resubmitted. A bill to give effect to this recommendation, and including 
Texas, was reported in the House the next day from the Committee on Re- 
construction, and passed with amendments by a vote of 125 to 25, 47 not vot- 
ing. The Senate, by a vote of 30 to 20, added the provision of section 6 of 
the act, together with other amendments. The final vote in the Senate was 
44 to 9. The House, under suspension of the rules, concurred in the Senate 
amendments, the vote being 108 to 39, 54 not voting. Proclamations submit- 
ting the constitutions of the States to the voters were issued, for Virginia, May 
14, for Mississippi, July 13, and for Texas, July 15. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 40, 41. For the 
proceedings see the House aitd Senate Journals, 41st Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The bill reported April 8 is in the Globe. On Canby's course 
in Virginia see Senate Exec. Doc. 13, 41st Cong., 2d Sess. On the result of 
the elections see Dunning, Essays, 232-234. On conditions in Virginia see 
Senate Exec. Doc. ij, 41st Cong., 2d Sess.; in Texas, House Misc. Docs. ^7 
ajid 121, and Senate Misc. Doc. log, 40th Cong., 2d Sess. 

An Act authorizing the Submission of the Constitutions of Vir- 
gi?iia, Mississippi, and Texas, to a Vote of the People, and 
authorizing the Election of State Officers, provided by the said 
Constitutiojis, and Mettibers of Congress. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the President of the United States, at 
such time as he may deem best for the public interest, may sub- 
mit the constitution which was framed by the convention which 
met in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday, the third day of Decem- 
ber, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, to the voters 
of said State, registered at the date of said submission, for rati- 
fication or rejection ; and may also submit to a separate vote 



220 VIRGINIA, MISSISSIPPI, AND TEXAS [April lo 

such provisions of said constitution as he may deem best, such 
vote to be taken either upon each of the said provisions alone, 
or in connection with the other portions of said constitution, as 
the President may direct. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That at the same election 
the voters of said State may vote for and elect members of the 
general assembly of said State, and all the officers of said State 
provided for by the said constitution, and members of Congress ; 
and the officer commanding the district of Virginia shall cause 
the lists of registered voters of said State to be revised, enlarged, 
and corrected prior to such election, according to law, and for 
that purpose may appoint such registrars as he may deem nec- 
essary. And said elections shall be held and returns thereof 
made in the manner provided by the acts of Congress commonly 
called the reconstruction acts. 

Sec. 3. [Similar provisions for Texas]; Provided, also, That 
no election shall be held in said State of Texas for any purpose 
until the President so directs. 

Sec. 4. [Similar provisions for Mississippi.] 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if either of said con- 
stitutions shall be ratified at such election, the legislature of the 
State so ratifying, elected as provided for in this act, shall 
assemble at the capital of said State on the fourth Tuesday 
after the official promulgation of such ratification by the mili- 
tary officer commanding in said State. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That before the States of 
Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas shall be admitted to representa- 
tion in Congress, their several legislatures, which may be here- 
after lawfully organized, shall ratify the fifteenth article, which 
has been proposed by Congress to the several States as an 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That the proceedings in 
any of said States shall not be deemed final or operate as a 
complete restoration thereof until their action, respectively, 
shall be approved by Congress. 

Approved, April 10, 1869. 



i869] RECONSTRUCTION OF GEORGIA 221 

No. 82. Reconstruction of Georgia 

December 22, 1869 

A BILL " to enforce the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution and the 
laws of the United States in the State of Georgia, and to restore to that State 
the republican form of government elected under its new constitution," was 
introduced in the Senate, March 5, 1869, by Edmunds of Vermont, and re- 
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill was reported with an 
amendment on the 17th, but without recommendation as to its passage, the 
committee being equally divided on that point. A bill with the same title 
was reported in the House, April 7, from the Committee on Reconstruction. 
There was no further action on either bill during the session. A concurrent 
resolution of February 9 had provided, in the meantime, for the recognition 
of the electoral vote of Georgia. In his annual message of December 6, Presi- 
dent Grant called attention to the unseating of colored members of the 
legislature of Georgia and the seating of persons disqualified by the fourteenth 
amendment, and submitted " whether it would not be wise, without delay, to 
enact a law authorizing the governor of Georgia to convene the members 
originally elected to the legislature, requiring each member to take the oath 
prescribed by the reconstruction acts, and none to be admitted who are in- 
eligible under the third clause of the fourteenth amendment." The Edmunds 
bill was thereupon called up, and, together with a bill on the same subject in- 
troduced by Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary. December 13 the committee reported the Morton bill. On the 
17th, by a vote of 38 to 15, section 8, " that the legislature of Georgia shall be 
regarded as provisional only, until the further action of Congress," was stricken 
out, and section 8 of the act inserted. The bill then passed, the vote be- 
ing 45 to 9. The House passed the bill on the 2ist by a vote of 121 to 51, 
39 not voting. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 59, 60. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., ist and 2d Sess., 
and the Cong. Globe. On political conditions in Georgia see House Misc. 
Doc. ^2, 40th Cong., 3d Sess., House Exec. Doc. 82, Senate Exec, Docs. 3 and 41, 
Senate Reports ^8 and 75, 41st Cong., 2d Sess. See also Dunning, Essays, 239 
seq. 

An Act to promote the Reconstruction of the State of Georgia. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the governor of the State of Georgia 
be, and hereby is, authorized and directed, forthwith, by procla- 
mation, to summon all persons elected to the general assembly 



222 RECONSTRUCTION OF GEORGIA [Dec. 22 

of said State, as appears by the proclamation of George G. 
Meade, the general commanding the military district including 
the State of Georgia, dated June twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-eight, to appear on some day certain, to be named in 
said proclamation, at Atlanta, in said State ; and thereupon the 
said general assembly of said State shall proceed to perfect its 
organization in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the 
United States, according to the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 2. And be it ficrther enacted, That when the members so 
elected to said senate and house of representatives shall be 
convened, as aforesaid, each and every member and each and 
every person claiming to be elected as a member of said senate 
or house of representatives shall, in addition to taking the oath 
or oaths required by the constitution of Georgia, also take and 
subscribe and file in the ofiice of the secretary of state of the 
State of Georgia one of the following oaths or affirmations, 
namely : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) 
that I have never held the oifice, or exercised the duties of, a 
senator or representative in Congress, nor been a member of 
the legislature of any State of the United States, nor held any 
civil office created by law for the administration of any general 
law of a State, or for the administration of justice in any State 
or under the laws of the United States, nor held any office in 
the military or naval service of the United States, and there- 
after engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United 
States, or gave aid or comfort to its enemies, or rendered, except 
in consequence of direct physical force, any support or aid to 
any insurrection or rebellion against the United States, nor held 
any office under, or given any support to, any government of any 
kind organized or acting in hostility to the United States, 
or levying war against the United States. So help me God, (or 
on the pains and penalties of perjury, as the case may be.)" 
Or the following oath or affirmation, namely : " I do solemnly 
swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I have been relieved, 
by an act of the Congress of the United States, from disability 
as provided for by section three of the fourteenth amendment to 



1 869] RECONSTRUCTION OF GEORGIA 223 

the Constitution of the United States. So help me God, (or on 
the pains and penalties of perjury, as the case maybe.)" . . . 
And every person claiming to be so elected, who shall refuse or 
decline or neglect or be unable to take one of said oaths or 
affirmations above provided, shall not be admitted to a seat in 
said senate or house of representatives, or to a participation in 
the proceedings thereof, but shall be deemed ineligible to such 
seats. 

Sec. 3. [Penalty for falsely taking the oath, &c.] 

Sec. 4. Atid be if further enacted, That the persons elected, 
as aforesaid, and entitled to compose such legislature, and who 
shall comply with the provisions of this act, by taking one of 
the oaths or affirmations above prescribed, shall thereupon pro- 
ceed, in said senate and house of representatives to which 
they have been elected respectively, to reorganize said senate 
and house of representatives, respectively, by the election and 
qualification of the proper officers of each house. 

Sec. 5 . [Penalty for hindering by force any person from taking 
an oath or participating in proceedings, &c.] 

Sec. 6. Afid be it further enacted, That it is hereby declared 
that the exclusion of any person or persons elected as aforesaid, 
and being otherwise qualified, from participation in the pro- 
ceedings of said senate or house of representatives, upon the 
ground of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, would 
be illegal, and revolutionary, and is hereby prohibited. 

Sec. 7. Afid be it further enacted, That upon the application 
of the governor of Georgia, the President of the United States 
shall employ such military or naval forces of the United States 
as may be necessary to enforce and execute the preceding pro- 
visions of this act. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted. That the legislature shall 
ratify the fifteenth amendment proposed to the Constitution of 
the United States before senators and representatives from 
Georgia are admitted to seats in Congress. 

Approved, December 22, 1869. 



224 RESTORATION OF VIRGINIA [Jan. 26 

No. 83. Admission of Virginia to Represen- 
tation in Congress 

January 26, 1870 

The annual message of President Grant, December 6, 1869, urged the ad- 
mission of Virginia to representation, but stated that the results of the recent 
elections in Mississippi and Texas were not yet known. To the proposition to 
rehabilitate Virginia there was strong opposition, but the wish of the President 
prevailed. A bill to give effect to the recommendation was reported, Jan- 
uary II, 1870, from the Committee on Reconstruction. On the 14th a sub- 
stitute offered by Bingham was agreed to by a vote of 98 to 95, 17 not voting, 
and the bill passed, the final vote being 142 to 49, 19 not voting. The Senate 
added various amendments imposing conditions and restrictions, and passed 
the bill on the 21st by a vote of 47 to 10, On the 24th the House concurred 
in the Senate amendments, the vote being 136 to 58, 16 not voting. July 28 
the militai;.' authority in Virginia ceased. Acts of February 23 and March 30 
provided in similar terms for the restoration of Mississippi and Texas, and the 
military authority in those States was withdrawn. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 62, 63. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. On the opposition in Congress see Dunning, Essays, 234, 235. 

Ati Act to admit the State of Virginia to Representation in the 
Congress of the United States. 

Whereas the people of Virginia have framed and adopted 
a constitution of State government which is republican ; and 
whereas the legislature of Virginia elected under said constitu- 
tion have ratified the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to 
the Constitution of the United States ; and whereas the per- 
formance of these several acts in good faith was a condition 
precedent to the representation of the State in Congress : 
Therefore, 

Be it enacted . . ., That the said State of Virginia is entitled 
to representation in the Congress of the United States : Pro- 
vided, That before any member of the legislature of said State 
shall take or resume his seat, or any officer of said State shall 
enter upon the duties of his office, he shall take, and subscribe, 
and file in the office of the secretary of state of Virginia, for 



1S70] RESTORATION Of VIRGINIA 225 

permanent preservation, an oath^ in the form following: "I, 

, do solemnly swear that I have never taken an oath 

as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, 
or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or 
judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the 
United States, and afterward engaged in insurrection or rebellion 
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof, 
so help me God " ; or such person shall in like manner take, 

subscribe, and file the following oath : " I, , do solemnly 

swear that I have, by act of Congress of the United States, been 
relieved from the disabilities imposed upon me by the fourteenth 
amendment of the Constitution of the United States, so help 
me God"; . . . And provided further, That every such person 
who shall neglect for the period of thirty days next after the 
passage of this act to take, subscribe, and file such oath as 
aforesaid, shall be deemed and taken, to all intents and pur- 
poses, to have vacated his office: And provided further, That 
the State of Virginia is admitted to representation in Congress 
as one of the States of the Union upon the following funda- 
mental conditions : First, That the Constitution of Virginia 
shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen 
or class of citizens of the United States of the right to vote 
who are entitled to vote by the Constitution herein recognized, 
except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies 
at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted 
under laws equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said 
State : Provided, That any alteration of said Constitution, pro- 
spective in its effects, may be made in regard to the time and 
place of residence of voters. Second, That it shall never be 
lawful for the said State to deprive any citizen of the United 
States, on account of his race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude, of the right to hold office under the constitution and 
laws of said State, or upon any such ground to require of him 
any other qualifications for office than such as are required of 

1 An amending act of February i, 1870, provided for the usual alternative of 
affirmation. 



226 FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [March 30 

all Other citizens. Third, That the constitution of Virginia 
shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any 
citizen or class of citizens of the United States of the school 
rights and privileges secured by the constitution of said State. 
Approved, January 26, 1870. 



No. 84. Fifteenth Amendment to the Consti- 
tution 

March 30, 1870 

" The evident and complete inefficacy of the second section of the [four- 
teenth] amendment was the reason for the introduction of the fifteenth 
amendment " (Johnston). As in the case of the previous amendments, vari- 
ous propositions vi'ere submitted, while the discussion of the political and 
constitutional theories embodied in the proposed amendment took a wide 
range. February 17, 1869, the Senate, after long debate, passed, by a vote of 
35 to II, a joint resolution for the submission of an amendment to the Consti- 
tution reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, January 15. February 20 
the resolution in amended form passed the House, the vote being 140 to 37, 
46 not voting. The Senate, by a vote of 32 to 17, disagreed to the House 
amendment. The conference committee rejected the amendment of the 
House and agreed to the Senate resolution, except the words " and to hold 
office," in section i. The amendment was rejected by New Jersey, Dela- 
ware, Maryland, Kentucky, Oregon, and California, and was not acted on by 
Tennessee. Georgia and Ohio at first rejected it, but subsequently ratified it. 
The ratification of New York was later rescinded. A proclamation declaring 
the amendment in force was issued March 30, 1870. 

References. — Text in Revised Statutes (ed. 1878), 32. For the pro- 
ceedings of Congress see the House and Senate Jottrnals, 40th Cong., 2d 
Sess., and the Cong. Globe. Votes of State legislatures on ratification are col- 
lected in McPherson, Reconstruction, 488-498, 557-562. See also Sherman, 
Recollections, I, 450, 45 1. 

Article XV. 

Section i. The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any 
State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this 
article by appropriate legislation. 



1870] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFl^EENTH AMENDMENT 22/ 

No. 85. Act to enforce the Fifteenth Amend- 
ment 

May 31, 1870 

A BILL to enforce the right of citizens of the United States to vote was in- 
troduced in the House, February 21, 1870, by Bingham of Ohio, and referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary. May 9 a substitute was reported and 
the bill recommitted. The substitute measure was again reported May 16, 
and passed the same day, the vote being 131 to 43, 54 not voting. May 20 
the Senate, after an all-night session, passed a substitute by a vote of 43 to 8, 
21 not voting. The House disagreed to the Senate amendment, and a con- 
ference committee settled the final form of the bill. The report of the con- 
ference committee was agreed to by the Senate on the 25th by a vote of 48 to 
II, and by the House on the 27th by a vote of 133 to 58, 39 not voting. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 140-146. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The House substitute of May 9 is in the Globe for May 16 ; 
the text of the Senate bill is in ibid., May 20. Part of the act followed a re- 
port on New York election frauds, Hoicse Report 31, 40th Cong., 3d Sess. On 
general political conditions in the South see House Report 31, 41st Cong., 3d 
Sess.; Senate Report i, 42d Cong., ist Sess.; House Exec. Doc. 268, 42d 
Cong., 2d Sess.; House Reports loi and 261, 43d Cong., 2d Sess. The Con- 
gressional documents contain numerous reports on affairs in the different 
States. 

An Act to enforce the Right of Citizens of the United States to 
vote in the several States of this Union, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That all citizens of the United States who 
are or shall be otherwise qualified by law to vote at any election 
by the people in any State, Territory, district, county, city, par- 
ish, township, school district, municipality, or other territorial 
subdivision, shall be entitled and allowed to vote at all such 
elections, without distinction of race, color, or previous con- 
dition of servitude ; any constitution, law, custom, usage, or 
regulation of any State or Territory, or by or under its author- 
ity, to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Sec. 2. Aiid be it further enacted. That if by or under the 
authority of the constitution or laws of any State, or the laws 



228 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [May 31 

of any Territory, any act is or shall be required to be done as 
a prerequisite or qualification for voting, and by such constitu- 
tion or laws persons or officers are or shall be charged with 
the performance of duties in furnishing to citizens an opportu- 
nity to perform such prerequisite, or to become qualified to vote, 
it shall be the duty of every such person and officer to give to 
all citizens of the United States the same and equal opportunity 
to perform such prerequisite, and to become qualified to vote 
without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude ; [penalty for refusal]. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That whenever, by or under 
the authority of the constitution or laws of any State, or the 
laws of any Territory, any act is or shall be required to \be'\ 
done by any citizen as a prerequisite to qualify or entitle him 
to vote, the offer of any such citizen to perform the act required 
to be done as aforesaid shall, if it fail to be carried into execu- 
tion by reason of the wrongful act or omission aforesaid of the 
person or officer charged with the duty of receiving or permit- 
ting such performance or offer to perform, or acting thereon, be 
deemed and held as a performance in law of such act ; and the 
person so offering and failing as aforesaid, and being otherwise 
qualified, shall be entitled to vote in the same manner and to 
the same extent as if he had in fact performed such act ; [penalty 
for wrongful refusal by officers of elections to receive the vote 
of such person upon affidavit, &c.]. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That if any person, by 
force, bribery, threats, intimidation, or other unlawful means, 
shall hinder, delay, prevent, or obstruct, or shall combine and 
confederate with others to hinder, delay, prevent, or obstruct, 
any citizen from doing any act required to be done to qualify 
him to vote or from voting at any election as aforesaid, such 
person shall for every such offence forfeit and pay the sum of 
five hundred dollars to the person aggrieved thereby, . . . and 
shall also for every such offence be guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and shall, on conviction thereof, be fined not less than five 
hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not less than one month 



1870] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 229 

and not more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the 
court. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall 
prevent, hinder, control, or intimidate, or shall attempt to pre- 
vent, hinder, control, or intimidate, any person from exercising 
or in exercising the right of suffrage, to whom the right of 
suffrage is secured or guaranteed by the fifteenth amendment 
to the Constitution of the United States, by means of bribery, 
threats, or threats of depriving such person of employment or 
occupation, or of ejecting such person from rented house, lands, 
or other property, or by threats of refusing to renew leases or 
contracts for labor, or by threats of violence to himself or family, 
such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misde- 
meanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be fined not less than 
five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not less than one month 
and not more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the 
court. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That if two or more per- 
sons shall band or conspire together, or go in disguise upon the 
public highway, or upon the premises of another, with intent to 
violate any provision of this act, or to injure, oppress, threaten, 
or intimidate any citizen with intent to prevent or hinder his 
free exercise and enjoyment of any right or privilege granted 
or secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United 
States, or because of his having exercised the same, such per- 
sons shall be held guilty of felony, and, on conviction thereof, 
shall be fined or imprisoned, or both, at the discretion of the 
court, — the fine not to exceed five thousand dollars, and the 
imprisonment not to exceed ten years, — and shall, moreover, 
be thereafter ineligible to, and disabled from holding, any office 
or place of honor, profit, or trust created by the Constitution or 
laws of the United States. 

Sec. 7. And be it further eftacted, That if in the act of violat- 
ing any provision in either of the two preceding sections, any 
other felony, crime, or misdemeanor shall be committed, the 
offender, on conviction of such violation of said sections, shall 



230 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [May 31 

be punished for the same with such punishments as are attached 
to the said felonies, crimes, and misdemeanors by the laws of 
the State in which the offence may be committed. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the district courts of 
the United States, within their respective districts, shall have, 
exclusively of the courts of the several States, cognizance of all 
crimes and offences committed against the provisions of this act, 
and also, concurrently with the circuit courts of the United 
States, of all causes, civil and criminal, arising under this act, 
except as herein otherwise provided, and the jurisdiction hereby 
conferred shall be exercised in conformity with the laws and 
practice governing United States courts ; and all crimes and 
offences committed against the provisions of this act may be 
prosecuted by the indictment of a grand jury, or, in cases of 
crimes and offences not infamous, the prosecution may be either 
by indictment or information filed by the district attorney in a 
court having jurisdiction. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the district attorneys, 
marshals, and deputy marshals of the United States, the com- 
missioners appointed by the circuit and territorial courts of the 
United States, with powers of arresting, imprisoning, or bailing 
offenders against the laws of the United States, and every other 
officer who may be specially empowered by the President of the 
United States, shall be, and they are hereby, specially author- 
ized and required, at the expense of the United States, to insti- 
tute proceedings against all and every person who shall violate 
the provisions of this act, and cause him or them to be arrested 
and imprisoned, or bailed, as the case may be, for trial before 
such court of the United States or territorial court as has cogni- 
zance of the offence. [Number of commissioners of circuit and 
territorial courts to be increased.] 

Sec. 10. [Marshals and deputies to execute all warrants, &c.] 
And the better to enable the said commissioners to execute their 
duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and the requirements of this act, they 
are hereby authorized and empowered, within their districts re- 



1870] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 23 1 

spectively, to appoint, in writing, under their hands, any one or 
more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such 
warrants and other process as may be issued by them in the 
lawful performance of their respective duties, and the persons 
so appointed . . . shall have authority to summon and call to 
their aid the bystanders or posse comitatus of the proper county, 
or such portion of the land or naval forces of the United States, 
or of the militia, as may be necessary to the performance of the 
duty with which they are charged, and to insure a faithful 
observance of the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States ; and such warrants shall run and be executed 
by said officers anywhere in the State or Territory within which 
they are issued. 

Sec. II. [Penalty for obstructing the execution of process, 
attempting to rescue any person arrested, or harboring any per- 
son for whom a warrant has been issued.] 

Sec. 12. [Fees, &c.] 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for 
the President of the United States to employ such part of the 
land or naval forces of the United States, or of the mihtia, as 
shall be necessary to aid in the execution of judicial process 
issued under this act. 

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That whenever any person 
shall hold office, except as a member of Congress or of some 
State legislature, contrary to the provisions of the third section 
of the fourteenth article of amendment of the Constitution of the 
United States, it shall be the duty of the district attorney of the 
United States for the district in which such person shall hold 
office, as aforesaid, to proceed against such person, by writ of 
quo warranto, returnable to the circuit or district court of the 
United States in such district, and to prosecute the same to the 
removal of such person from office ; and any writ of quo war- 
ranto so brought, as aforesaid, shall take precedence of all other 
cases on the docket of the court to which it is made returnable, 
and shall not be continued unless for cause proved to the satis- 
faction of the court. 



232 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [May 31 

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall 
hereafter knowingly accept or hold any office under the United 
States, or any State to which he is ineligible under the third 
section of the fourteenth article of amendment of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, or who shall attempt to hold or exer- 
cise the duties of any such office, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor against the United States, and, upon conviction 
thereof before the circuit or district court of the United States, 
shall be imprisoned not more than one year, or fined not exceed- 
ing one thousand dollars, or both, at the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That all persons within 
the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right 
in every State and Territory in the United States to make and 
enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the 
full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security 
of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall 
be subject to like punishment, pains, penalties, taxes, licenses, 
and exactions of every kind, and none other, any law, statute, 
ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. 
No tax or charge shall be imposed or enforced by any State 
upon any person immigrating thereto from a foreign country 
which is not equally imposed and enforced upon every person 
immigrating to such State from any other foreign country ; and 
any law of any State in conflict with this provision is hereby 
declared null and void. 

Sec. 17. [Penalty for violation of the preceding section.] 

Sec. 18. And be it further ejiacted, That the act to protect all 
persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish 
the means of their vindication, passed April nine, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-six, is hereby re-enacted; and sections sixteen 
and seventeen hereof shall be enforced according to the provi- 
sions of said act. 

Sec. 19. And be it further enacted, That if at any election 
for representative or delegate in the Congress of the United 
States any person shall knowingly personate and vote, or 
attempt to vote, in the name of any other person, whether 



1870] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 233 

living, dead, or fictitious ; or vote more than once at the 
same election for any candidate for the same office ; or vote at 
a place where he may not be lawfully entitled to vote ; or vote 
without having a lawful right to vote ; or do any unlawful act 
to secure a right or an opportunity to vote for himself or any 
other person ; or by force, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery, 
reward, or offer, or promise thereof, or otherwise unlawfully 
prevent any qualified voter of any State of the United States of 
America, or of any Territory thereof, from freely exercising the 
right of suffrage, or by any such means induce any voter to 
refuse to exercise such right ; or compel or induce by any such 
means, or otherwise, any officer of an election in any such State 
or Territory to receive a vote from a person not legally qualified 
or entitled to vote ; or interfere in any manner with any officer 
of said elections in the discharge of his duties ; or by any of 
such means, or other unlawful means, induce any officer of an 
election, or officer whose duty it is to ascertain, announce, or 
declare the result of any such election, or give or make any 
certificate, document, or evidence in relation thereto, to violate 
or refuse to comply with his duty, or any law regulating the 
same ; or knowingly and wilfully receive the vote of any person 
not entitled to vote, or refuse to receive the vote of any person 
entitled to vote ; or aid, counsel, procure, or advise any such 
voter, person, or officer to do any act hereby made a crime, or 
to omit to do any duty the omission of which is hereby made a 
crime, or attempt to do so, every such person shall be deemed 
guilty of a crime, and shall for such crime be liable to prosecu- 
tion in any court of the United States of competent jurisdiction, 
and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not 
exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for a term 
not exceeding three years, or both, in the discretion of the 
court, and shall pay the costs of prosecution. 

Sec. 20. [Penalty for similar unlawful acts in and concerning 
the registration of voters.^] Provided, That every registration 
made under the laws of any State or Territory, for any State or 

1 Amended by act of February 28, 1871, section i. 



234 -'^CT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [May 31 

Other election at which such representative or delegate in Con- 
gress shall be chosen, shall be deemed to be a registration 
-within the meaning of this act, notwithstanding the same shall 
also be made for the purpose of any State, territorial, or munici- 
pal election. 

Sec. 21. And be it further enacted, That, whenever, by the 
laws of any State or Territory, the name of any candidate or 
person to be voted for as representative or delegate in Congress 
shall be required to be printed, written, or contained in any 
ticket or ballot with other candidates or persons to be voted for 
at the same election for State, territorial, municipal, or local 
officers, it shall be sufficient prima facie evidence, either for the 
purpose of indicting or convicting any person charged with 
voting, or attempting or offering to vote, unlawfully under the 
provisions of the preceding sections, or for committing either of 
the offences thereby created, to prove that the person so charged 
or indicted, voted, or attempted or offered to vote, such ballot 
or ticket, or committed either of the offences named in the pre- 
ceding sections of this act with reference to such ballot. And 
the proof and establishment of such facts shall be taken, held, 
and deemed to be presumptive evidence that such person voted, 
or attempted or offered to vote, for such representative or dele- 
gate, as the case may be, or that such offenj-e was committed 
with reference to the election of such representative or delegate, 
and shall be sufficient to warrant his conviction, unless it shall 
be shown that any such ballot, when cast, or attempted or offered 
to be cast, by him, did not contain the name of any candidate 
for the office of representative or delegate in the Congress of 
the United States, or that svich offenj-e was not committed with 
reference to the election of such representative or delegate. 

Sec. 22. [Penalty for the refusal of any officer of election to 
do his duty, for making false return, &c.] 

Sec. 23. A7id be it further enacted, That whenever any person 
shall be defeated or deprived of his election to any office, except 
elector of President or Vice-president, representative or dele- 
gate in Congress, or member of a State legislature, by reason 



iSyo] REDEMPTION AND BANK NOTE ACT 235 

of the denial to any citizen or citizens who shall offer to vote, 
of the right to vote, on account of race, color, or previous con- 
dition of servitude, his right to hold and enjoy such office, and 
the emoluments thereof, shall not be impaired by such denial ; 
and such person may bring any appropriate suit or proceeding 
to recover possession of such office, and in cases where it shall 
appear that the sole question touching the title to such office 
arises out of the denial of the right to vote to citizens who so 
offered to vote, on account of race, color, or previous condition 
of servitude, such suit or proceeding may be instituted in the 
circuit or district court of the United States of the circuit or 
district in which such person resides. And said circuit or dis- 
trict court shall have, concurrently with the State courts, juris- 
diction thereof so far as to determine the rights of the parties 
to such office by reason of the denial of the right guaranteed 
by the fifteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States, and secured by this act. 
Approved, May 31, 1870. 



No. 86. Redemption and Bank Note Act 

July 12, 1870 

The great inequalities in the distribution of the national bank note circula- 
tion among the States, and the action of the Comptroller of the Currency 
under the act of March 3, 1865, led to the introduction of various bills relat- 
ing to the subject. A bill " to provide a national currency of coin notes, and 
to equalize the distribution of circulating notes," wslS reported in the Senate, 
January li, 1870, by John Sherman, from the Committee on Finance, and 
passed with amendments, February 2, by a vote of 39 to 23. Various substi- 
tutes offered in the House were rejected, and the bill with amendments passed 
that body, June 15, by a vote of 99 to 81, 50 not voting. The Senate refused to 
concur in the action of the House. The report of a conference committee was 
disagreed to by the House, June 29, the vote being 53 to 127, 49 not voting. 
The report of a second committee was agreed to by the Senate July 6, with- 
out a division, and by the House July 7, by a vote of 100 to 77, 53 not voting. 

References.— Texf in C/.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 251-254. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 2d Sess., and the 



236 REDEMPTION AND BANK NOTE ACT [July 12 

Cong. Globe. The text of the Senate bill is in the Globe, January 24; on 
the reasons for the bill, and its scope, see particularly Sherman's remarks, 
ibid. 

An Act to provide for the Redemption of the three per cent, tem- 
porary Loan Certificates, and for an Increase of national Bank 
Notes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That fifty-four millions of dollars in notes 
for circulation may be issued to national banking associations, 
in additiom to the three hundred millions of dollars authorized 
by the twenty-second section of the . . . [National Bank Act] 
. . .; and the amount of notes so provided shall be furnished 
to banking associations organized or to be organized in those 
States and Territories having less than their proportion under 
the apportionment contemplated by the provisions of the . . . 
[act of March 3, 1865, amending the National Bank Act] . . ., 
and the bonds deposited with the treasurer of the United States, 
to secure the additional circulating notes herein authorized, shall 
be of any description of bonds of the United States bearing in- 
terest in coin, but a new apportionment of the increased circula- 
tion herein provided for shall be made as soon as practicable, 
based upon the census of eighteen hundred and seventy : Fro- 
vided, That if applications for the circulation herein authorized 
shall not be made within one year after the passage of this act 
by banking associations organized or to be organized in States 
having less than their proportion, it shall be lawful for the comp- 
troller of the currency to issue such circulation to banking asso- 
ciations applying for the same in other States or Territories 
having less than their proportion, giving the preference to such 
as have the greatest deficiency: And provided further. That no 
banking association hereafter organized shall have a circulation 
in excess of five hundred thousand dollars. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That at the end of each 
month after the passage of this act it shall be the duty of the 
comptroller of the currency to report to the Secretary of the 
Treasury the amount of circulating notes issued, under the pro- 



1S70] REDEMrXION AND BANK NOTE ACT 237 

visions of the preceding section, to national banking associa- 
tions during the previous month ; whereupon the Secretary of 
the Treasury shall redeem and cancel an amount of the three 
per centum temporary loan certificates issued under the acts of 
March two, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and July twenty- 
five, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, not less than the amount 
of circulating notes so reported, and may, if necessary, in order 
to procure the presentation of such temporary loan certificates 
for redemption, give notice to the holders thereof, by publica- 
tion or otherwise, that certain of said certificates (which shall 
be designated by number, date, and amount) shall cease to bear 
interest from and after a day to be designated in such notice, 
and that the certificates so designated shall no longer be avail- 
able as any portion of the lawful money-reserve in possession 
of any national banking association, and after the day desig- 
nated in such notice no interest shall be paid on such certifi- 
cates, and they shall not thereafter be counted as a part of the 
reserve of any banking association. 

Sec. 3. A7id be it fui-ther enacted, That upon the deposit of 
any United States bonds, bearing interest payable in gold, with 
the treasurer of the United States, in the manner prescribed in 
the nineteenth and twentieth sections of the national currency 
act, it shall be lawful for the comptroller of the currency to issue 
to the association making the same, circulating notes of differ- 
ent denominations, not less than five dollars, not exceeding in 
amount eighty per centum of the par value of the bonds de- 
posited, which notes shall bear upon their face the promise of 
the association to which they are issued to pay them, upon pres- 
entation at the office of the association, in gold coin of the 
United States, and shall be redeemable upon such presenta- 
tion in such coin : Provided^ That no banking association organ- 
ized under this section shall have a circulation in excess of one 
million of dollars.^ 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That every national bank- 
ing association formed under the provisions of the preceding 

1 The limitation on circulation was removed by an act of January 19, 1875. 



238 REDEMPTION AND BANK NOTE ACT [July 12 

section of this act shall at all times keep on hand not less than 
twenty-five per centum of its outstanding circulation in gold 
or silver coin of the United States, and shall receive at par in 
the payment of debts the gold notes of every other such bank- 
ing association which at the time of such payments shall be 
redeeming its circulating notes in gold coin of the United States. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That every association or- 
ganized for the purpose of issuing gold notes as provided in 
this act shall be subject to all the requirements and provisions 
of the national currency act, except the first clause of section 
twenty-two, which limits the circulation of national banking 
associations to three hundred millions of dollars ; the first 
clause of section thirty-two, which, taken in connection with 
the preceding section, would require national banking associa- 
tions organized in the city of San Francisco to redeem their 
circulating notes at par in the city of New York ; and the last 
clause of section thirty-two, which requires every national bank- 
ing association to receive in payment of debts the notes of every 
other national banking association at par : Provided, That in 
applying the provisions and requirements of said act to the 
banking associations herein provided for, the terms " lawful 
money," and " lawful money of the United States," shall be 
held and construed to mean gold or silver coin of the United 
States. 

Approved, July 12, 1870. 



No. 87. Naturalization Act 

July 14, 1870 

Numerous proposals to amend the naturalization laws came before Congress 
during the session of 1 869- 1870, called out in part by the recent election 
frauds in New York. Bills introduced February 2 and March 2, 1870, by 
Noah Davis of New York, from the Committee on the Judiciary, were recom- 
mitted. A new bill was introduced by Davis June 13, and passed the same 
day under suspension of the rules by a vote of 130 to 49, 51 not voting. This 



1870] NATURALIZATION ACT 239 

was the bill as finally passed, except the last three sections. A substitute was 
reported in the Senate on the i8th, July 4, by a vote of 21 to 20, amend- 
ments extending the privilege of naturalization to African aliens and persons 
of African descent, and providing for supervisors and deputies in certain 
cases, were agreed to, and the bill passed, the final vote being 33 to 8. The 
House, by a vote of 132 to 53, 45 not voting, concurred in the amendments of 
the Senate. There was strong opposition to the bill in both houses. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 254-256. For the 
proceedings see the House and Se7iate Journals, 41st Cong., 2d Sess., and 
the Cong. Globe. On the election frauds in New York see House Report 31, 
40th Cong., 3d Sess. See further Wharton, International Law Digest, II, 
chap. 7. 

A71 Act to amend the Naturalization Laws and to punish Crimes 
against the same, and for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That in all cases where any oath, affirma- 
tion, or affidavit shall be made or taken under or by virtue of 
any act or law relating to the naturalization of aliens, or in any 
proceedings under such acts or laws, and any person or persons 
taking or making such oath, affirmation, or affidavit, shall know- 
ingly swear or affirm falsely, the same shall be deemed and 
taken to be perjury, and the person or persons guilty thereof 
shall upon conviction thereof be sentenced to imprisonment for 
a term not exceeding five years and not less than one year, and 
to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any person apply- 
ing to be admitted a citizen, or appearing as a witness for any 
such person, shall knowingly personate any other person than 
himself, or falsely appear in the name of a deceased person, or 
in an assumed or fictitious name, or if any person shall falsely 
make, forge, or counterfeit any oath, affirmation, notice, affidavit, 
certificate, order, record, signature, or other instrument, paper, 
or proceeding required or authorized by any law or act relating 
to or providing for the naturalization of aliens ; or shall utter, 
sell, dispose of, or use as true or genuine, or for any unlawful 
purpose, any false, forged, ante-dated, or counterfeit oath, affir- 
mation, notice, certificate, order, record, signature, instrument, 
paper, or proceeding as aforesaid ; or sell or dispose of to any 



240 NATURALIZATION ACT [July 14 

person other than the person for whom it was originally issued, 
any certificate of citizenship, or certificate showing any person 
to be admitted a citizen ; or if any person shall in any manner 
use for the purpose of registering as a voter, or as evidence of 
a right to vote, or otherwise, unlawfully, any order, certificate of 
citizenship, or certificate, judgment, or exemplification, show- 
ing such person to be admitted to be a citizen, whether hereto- 
fore or hereafter issued or made, knowing that such order or 
certificate, judgment, or exemplification has been unlawfully 
issued or made ; or if any person shall unlawfully use, or attempt 
to use, any such order or certificate, issued to or in the name of 
any other person, or in a fictitious name, or the name of a de- 
ceased person ; or use, or attempt to use, or aid, or assist, or 
participate in the use of any certificate of citizenship, knowing 
the same to be forged, or counterfeit, or ante-dated, or knowing 
the same to have been procured by fraud, or otherwise unlaw- 
fully obtained ; or if any person, and without lawful excuse, shall 
knowingly have or be possessed of any false, forged, ante-dated, 
or counterfeit certificate of citizenship, purporting to have been 
issued under the provisions of any law of the United States 
relating to naturalization, knowing such certificate to be false, 
forged, ante-dated, or counterfeit, with intent unlawfully to use 
the same ; or if any person shall obtain, accept, or receive any 
certificate of citizenship known to such person to have been pro- 
cured by fraud or by the use of any false name, or by means of 
any false statement made with intent to procure, or to aid in 
procuring, the issue of such certificate, or known to such person 
to be fraudulently altered or ante-dated ; or if any person who 
has been or may be admitted to be a citizen shall, on oath or 
affirmation, or by affidavit, knowingly deny that he has been so 
admitted, with intent to evade or avoid any duty or liability im- 
posed or required by law, every person so offending shall be 
deemed and adjudged guilty of felony, and, on conviction thereof, 
shall be sentenced to be imprisoned and kept at hard labor for 
a period not less than one year nor more than five years, or be 
fined in a sum not less than three hundred dollars nor more 



iSjo] NATURALIZATION ACT 24 1 

than one thousand dollars, or both such punishments may be 
imposed, in the discretion of the court. And every person who 
shall knowingly and intentionally aid or abet any person in the 
commission of any such felony, or attempt to do any act hereby 
made felony, or counsel, advise, or procure, or attempt to pro- 
cure, the commission thereof, shall be liable to indictment and 
punishment in the same manner and to the same extent as the 
principal party guilty of such felony, and such person may be 
tried and convicted thereof without the previous conviction of 
such principal. 

Sec. 4. And be it further e7iacted, That the provisions of this 
act shall apply to all proceedings had or taken, or attempted to 
be had or taken, before any court in which any proceeding for 
naturalization shall be commenced, had, or taken, or attempted 
to be commenced ; and the courts of the United States shall 
have jurisdiction of all offenses under the provisions of this act, 
in or before whatsoever court or tribunal the same shall have 
been committed. 

Sec. 5.^ And be it further oiacted, That in any city having 
upwards of twenty thousand inhabitants, it shall be the duty of 
the judge of the circuit court of the United States for the circuit 
wherein said city shall be, upon the application of two citizens, to 
appoint in writing for each election district or voting precinct in 
said city, and to change or renew said appointment as occasion 
may require, from time to time, two citizens resident of the dis- 
trict or precinct, one from each political party, who, when so 
designated, shall be, and are hereby, authorized to attend at all 
times and places fixed for the registration of voters, who, being 
registered, would be entitled to vote for representatives in Con- 
gress, and at all times and places for holding elections of repre- 
sentatives in Congress, and for counting the votes cast at said 
elections, and to challenge any name proposed to be registered, 
and any vote offered, and to be present and witness throughout 
the counting of all votes, and to remain where the ballot-boxes 
are kept at all times after the polls are open until the votes are 

1 Repealed by act of February 28, 1871, section 18 {post, p. 261). 
K 



242 REFUNDING THE NATIONAL DEBT [July 14 

finally counted ; and said persons and either of them shall have 
the right to affix their signature or his signature to said register 
for purposes of identification, and to attach thereto, or to the cer- 
tificate of the number of votes cast, and [any] statement touching 
the truth or fairness thereof which they or he may ask to attach ; 
and any one who shall prevent any person so designated from 
doing any of the acts authorized as aforesaid, or who shall hin- 
der or molest any such person in doing any of the said acts, or 
shall aid or abet in preventing, hindering, or molesting any such 
person in respect of any such acts, shall be guilty of a misde- 
meanor, and on conviction shall be punished by imprisonment 
not less than one year. 

Sec. 6.-' And be it further enacted, That in any city having 
upwards of twenty thousand inhabitants, it shall be lawful for 
the marshal of the United States for the district wherein said 
city shall be, to appoint as many special deputies as may be 
necessary to preserve order at any election at which repre- 
sentatives in Congress are to be chosen ; and said deputies 
are hereby authorized to preserve order at such elections, and 
to arrest for any offence or breach of the peace committed in 
their view. 

Sec. 7. And be it further ejiacted, That the naturalization 
laws are hereby extended to aliens of African nativity and to 
persons of African descent. 

Approved, July 14, 1870. 



No. 88. Act for refunding the National Debt 

July 14, 1870 

In his annual report of December 6, 1S69, the Secretary of the Treasury 
called attention to the fact that the bonds known as 5-20's, amounting to 
^1,602,671,100, were either redeemable or soon to become redeemable. A bill 
to provide for refunding the national debt was introduced in the Senate by 
Sumner January 12, 1870, and referred to the Committee on Finance, which 

1 Repealed by act of February 28, 1871, section i3 {post, p. 261). 



1870] REFUNDING THE NATIONAL DEBT 243 

reported February 3, through Sherman, a substitute. The matter formed one 
of the principal subjects of discussion for the remainder of the session. The 
substitute bill with amendments passed the Senate, March II, by a vote of 32 
to 10. The House left the bill without action until July I, when a substitute 
reported by Schenck, from the Committee of Ways and Means, was agreed to, 
the final vote being 129 to 42, 58 not voting. The chief difference between 
the two bills was in the character of the bonds to be issued. The Senate 
refused to accept the substitute of the House. A report of a conference com- 
mittee, July 12, being the act as approved with an additional section requiring 
the deposit of registered bonds as security for bank circulation, was rejected 
by the House by a vote of 88 to 103. A second report was agreed to the 
next day, in the House by a vote of 139 to 54, 37 not voting, and in the Senate 
without a division. An amending act of January 20, 1871, increased the 
amount of five per cent bonds to $500,000,000, but without increasing the 
total issue. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 272-274. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. On Sumner's bill see his remarks in the Globe, January 12; on 
the Senate substitute, Sherman's remarks, ibid., February 28, and Senate 
Report 4. Cf. Sherman's strictures on the act in his Recollections, I, 451-458. 
On the funding of the debt see Dewey, Fina7tcial History, chap. 14, and 
references there given. See also House Exec. Doc. 2oy, 43d Cong., ist Sess.; 
House Report g^ I, 50th Cong., ist Sess. 

An Act to authorize the Refunding of the national Debt. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby authorized to issue, in a sum or sums not exceeding in 
the aggregate two hundred million dollars, coupon or registered 
bonds of the United States, in such form as he may prescribe, 
and of denominations of fifty dollars, or some multiple of that 
sum, redeemable in coin of the present standard value, at the 
pleasure of the United States, after ten years from the date of 
their issue, and bearing interest, payable semiannually in such 
coin, at the rate of five per cent, per annum ; also a sum or sums 
not exceeding in the aggregate three hundred million dollars of 
like bonds, the same in all respects, but payable at the pleasure 
of the United States, after fifteen years from the date of their 
issue, and bearing interest at the rate of four and a half per 
cent, per annum ; also a sum or sums not exceeding in the 



244 REFUNDING THE NATIONAL DEBT [July 14 

aggregate one thousand million dollars of like bonds, the same 
in all respects, but payable at the pleasure of the United States, 
after thirty years from the date of their issue, and bearing in- 
terest at the rate of four per cent, per annum ; all of which said 
several classes of bonds and the interest thereon shall be exempt 
from the payment of all taxes or duties of the United States, as 
well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal, 
or local authority ; and the said bonds shall have set forth and 
expressed upon their face the above-specified conditions, and 
shall, with their coupons, be made payable at the treasury of 
the United States. But nothing in this act, or in any other law 
now in force, shall be construed to authorize any increase what- 
ever of the bonded debt of the United States. 

Sec. 2. A?id be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury is hereby authorized to sell and dispose of any of the 
bonds issued under this act, at not less than their par value for 
coin, and to apply the proceeds thereof to the redemption of 
any of the bonds of the United States outstanding, and known 
as five-twenty bonds, at their par value, or he may exchange 
the same for such five-twenty bonds, par for par ; but the bonds 
hereby authorized shall be used for no other purpose whatso- 
ever. . . .^ 

Sec. 3. [Payment of bonds, in what amounts, how determined, 
&c.] 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury is hereby authorized, with any coin in the treasury of 
the United States which he may lawfully apply to such purpose, 

1 An act of January 25, 1879, provided " that the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby authorized in the process of refunding the national debt under existing laws 
to exchange directly at par the bonds of the United States bearing interest at four 
per centum per annum authorized by law for the bonds of the United States com- 
monly known as five-twenties outstanding and uncalled, and, whenever all such 
five-twenty bonds shall have been redeemed, the provisions of this section and all 
existing provisions of law authorizing the refunding of the national debt shall apply 
to any bonds of the United States bearing interest at five per centum per annum or 
a higher rate, which may be redeemable. In any exchange made under the provi- 
sions of this section interest may be allowed, on the bonds redeemed, for a period 
of three months." 



1870] REFUNDING THE NATIONAL DEBT 245 

or which may be derived from the sale of any of the bonds, the 
issue of which is provided for in this act, to pay at par and 
cancel any six per cent, bonds of the United States of the kind 
known as five-twenty bonds, which have become or shall here- 
after become redeemable by the terms of their issue. . . . 

Sec. 5. A?id b.e it further enacted, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury is hereby authorized, at any time within two years 
from the passage of this act, to receive gold coin of the United 
States on deposit for not less than thirty days, in sums of not 
less than one hundred dollars, with the Treasurer, or any 
assistant treasurer of the United States authorized by the 
Secretary of the Treasury to receive the same, who shall issue 
therefor certificates of deposit, made in such form as the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, and said certificates 
of deposit shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding two and 
a half per cent, per annum ; and any amount of gold coin so 
deposited may be withdrawn from deposit at any time after 
thirty days from the date of deposit, and after ten days' notice 
and on the return of said certificates : Provided, That the 
interest on all such deposits shall cease and determine at the 
pleasure of the Secretarj^ of the Treasury. And not less than 
twenty-five per cent, of the coin deposited for or represented 
by said certificates of deposits shall be retained in the treasury 
for the payment of said certificates ; and the excess beyond 
twenty-five per cent, may be applied at the discretion of the 
Secretary of the Treasury to the payment or redemption of 
such outstanding bonds of the United States heretofore issued 
and known as the five-twenty bonds, as he may designate under 
the provisions of the fourth section of this act ; and any certifi- 
cates of deposit issued as aforesaid, may be received at par 
with the interest accrued thereon in payment for any bonds 
authorized to be issued by this act. 

Sec. 6. [Bonds purchased and held in the treasury under 
act of February 25, 1862, and other bonds hereafter purchased 
and held, &c., to be destroyed.] 

Approved, July 14, 1870. 



246 RESTORATION OF GEORGIA [July 15 

No. 89. Act for the Restoration of Georgia 

July 15, 1870 

A BILL for the restoration of Georgia, similar in purport to the acts for the 
restoration of Mississippi and Texas, was reported in the House, February 25, 
1870, by Butler of Massachusetts, from the Committee on Reconstruction, and 
passed, March 8, by a vote of 115 to 71, 34 not voting. The Senate added 
section 2 of the act, and further amendments declaring the existing govern- 
ment of the State provisional, directing the holding of a new election, and 
authorizing the President to suppress disorder. The amended bill passed the 
Senate, April 19, by a vote of 27 to 25. The bill was left without further 
action until June 24, when the House Committee on Reconstruction reported 
in favor of the passage of the House bill with amendments. The Senate 
refused to concur, and the final form of the bill was settled by a conference 
committee. The report of the committee was accepted by both houses, July 14, 
without a division. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 363, 364. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. On political conditions in Georgia see House Exec. Doc. 288, 

An Act relating to the State of Georgia. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the State of Georgia having complied 
with the reconstruction acts, and the fourteenth and fifteenth 
articles of amendments to the Constitution of the United States 
having been ratified in good faith by a legal legislature of said 
State, it is hereby declared that the State of Georgia is entitled 
to representation in the Congress of the United States. But 
nothing in this act contained shall be construed to deprive the 
people of Georgia of the right to an election for members of 
the general assembly of said State, as provided for in the 
Constitution thereof; and nothing in this or any other act of 
Congress shall be construed to affect the term to which any 
officer has been appointed or any member of the general assem- 
bly elected as prescribed by the Constitution of the State of 
Georgia. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act 
entitled " An act making appropriations for the support of the 
army for the year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and 



1870] SAN DOMINGO COMMISSIONERS 247 

sixty-eight, and for other purposes," approved March two, eigh- 
teen hundred and sixty-seven, as prohibits the organization, 
arming, or calling into service of the militia forces in the States 
of Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia, be, and the same 
is hereby, repealed. 

Approved, July 15, 1870. 



No. 90. San Domingo Commissioners 

January 12, 1871 

The question of the annexation of the island of Dominica, or San Do- 
mingo, began to be widely discussed in 1869. A commissioner, Orville E. 
Babcock, was sent to the island by President Grant, and November 29 a 
treaty of annexation was concluded. The treaty was ratified by San Domingo, 
but the opposition in the United States was strong. In a special message of 
May 31, 1870, Grant, who had throughout strongly favored annexation, urged 
ratification, but June 30 the treaty was rejected by the Senate. In his annual 
message of December 5 Grant discussed the matter at length, and suggested 
that Congress authorize the appointment of a commission to negotiate for the 
acquisition of the island. December 9 Sumner submitted in the Senate a 
resolution calling for papers and correspondence, and also for a considerable 
variety of information about San Domingo. On the 12th a resolution sub- 
stantially identical with the one finally agreed upon was introduced by Oliver 
P. Morton of Indiana, and on the 21st, after an all-night session, passed by a 
vote of 32 to 9, 30 not voting. The House, by a vote of 108 to 76, 50 not 
voting, added the proviso of section 3, and on January 10 agreed to the 
resolution as amended, the vote being 123 to 63, 47 not voting. The next 
day the Senate, by a vote of 57 to o, concurred. Sumner's resolution was 
agreed to January 4. The report of the commissioners was transmitted to 
Congress April 5; but Grant, though still maintaining his opinion in favor of 
annexation, recognized the divided state of public opinion, and recommended 
that Congress take no immediate action beyond printing the report. 

References.— Text\v\. U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 591. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 3d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. The report of the commissioners is Senate Exec. Doc. g, 42d 
Cong., 1st Sess.; see also Settate Misc. Doc. jj, ibid.; Senate Exec. Doc. jj, 
42d Cong., 2d Sess.; Senate Exec. Doc. 17 and House Exec. Docs. 42 and 43, 
41st Cong., 3d Sess.; Pierce, Sumner, IV, chaps. 55 and 56, 



248 SAN DOMINGO COMMISSIONERS [Jan. 12 

A Resolutio7i authorizing the Appointment of Commissiotiets in 
Relation to the Republic of Dominica. 

Resolved . . ., That the President of the United States be 
authorized to appoint three commissioners, and also a secretary, 
the latter to be versed in the English and Spanish languages, to 
proceed to the island of San Domingo, and to such other places, 
if any, as such commissioners may deem necessary, and there 
to inquire into, ascertain, and report the political state and con- 
dition of the republic of Dominica, the probable number of in- 
habitants, and the desire and disposition of the people of the 
said republic to become annexed to and to form part of the peo- 
ple of the United States ; the physical, mental, and moral con- 
dition of the said people, and their general condition as to 
material wealth and industrial capacity ; the resources of the 
country ; its mineral and agricultural products ; the products of 
its waters and forests ; the general character of the soil ; the 
extent and proportion thereof capable of cultivation ; the climate 
and health of the country; its bays, harbors, and rivers; its gen- 
eral meteorological character, and the existence and frequency 
of remarkable meteorological phenomena ; the debt of the gov- 
ernment and its obligations, whether funded, and ascertained, 
and admitted, or unadjusted and under discussion ; treaties or 
engagements with other powers ; extent of boundaries and terri- 
tory ; what proportion is covered by foreign claimants or by 
grants or concessions, and generally what concessions or fran- 
chises have been granted, with the names of the respective 
grantees ; the terms and conditions on which the Dominican 
government may desire to be annexed to and become part of 
the United States as one of the Territories thereof; such other 
information with respect to the said government or its territories 
as to the said commissioners shall seem desirable or important 
with reference to the future incorporation of the said Domini- 
can republic into the United States as one of its Territories. 

Sec. 2. And be it further resolved, That the said commis- 
sioners shall, as soon as conveniently may be, report to the 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 249 

President of the United States, who shall lay the report before 
Congress. 

Sec. 3. And be it further resolved, That the said commis- 
sioners shall serve without compensation, except the payment 
of expenses . . . : Provided, That nothing in these resolutions 
contained shall be held, understood, or construed as committing 
Congress to the policy of annexing the territory of said republic 
of Dominica. 

Approved, January 12, 187 1. 



No. 91. Supplementary Act to enforce the 
Fifteenth Amendment 

February 28, 187 1 

A BILL to amend the act of May 31, 1870, commonly known as the " Force 
Bill," was introduced in the House, January 9, 1871, by John C. Churchill of 
New York, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. February 15 a 
substitute offered by Bingham of Ohio was agreed to with amendments, and 
the bill passed, the final vote being 144 to 64, 32 not voting. The Senate 
passed the bill on the 24th without amendment by a vote of 39 to 10, 25 not 
voting. The act was further supplemented by a provision of the civil appro- 
priation act of June 10, 1872 [No. 95]. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVI, 433-440. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 3d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. 

An Act to amend an Act approved May thirty-one, eighteen hitn- 
dred and seventy, ejititled "An Act to enforce the Rights of Citizens 
of the United States to vote in the several States of this Union, 
and for other Purposes.'''' 

Be it enacted . . ., That section twenty of the . . . [act of 
May 31, 1870] . . . shall be, and hereby is, amended so as to 
read as follows : — 

"Sec. 20. And be it further enacted, That if, [at] any regis- 
tration of voters for an election for representative or delegate 
in the Congress of the United States, any person shall know- 



250 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [Feb. 28 

ingly personate and register, or attempt to register, in the name 
of any other person, whether living, dead, or fictitious, or 
fraudulently register, or fraudulently attempt to register, not 
having a lawful right so to do ; or do any unlawful act to se- 
cure registration for himself or any other person ; or by force, 
threat, menace, intimidation, bribery, reward, or offer, or prom- 
ise thereof, or other unlawful means, prevent or hinder any 
person having a lawful right to register from duly exercising 
such right ; or compel or induce, by any of such means, or 
other unlawful means, any officer of registration to admit to 
registration any person not legally entitled thereto, or interfere 
in any manner with any officer of registration in the discharge 
of his duties, or by any such means, or other unlawful means, 
induce any officer of registration to violate or refuse to comply 
with his duty or any law regulating the same ; or if any such 
officer shall knowingly and wilfully register as a voter any per- 
son not entitled to be registered, or refuse to so register any 
person entitled to be registered ; or if any such officer or other 
person whose duty it is to perform any duty in relation to such 
registration or election, or to ascertain, announce, or declare the 
result thereof, or give or make any certificate, document, or evi- 
dence in relation thereto, shall knowingly neglect or refuse to 
perform any duty required by law, or violate any duty imposed 
by law, or do any act unauthorized by law relating to or affecting 
such registration or election, or the result thereof, or any certifi- 
cate, document, or evidence in relation thereto, or if any person 
shall aid, counsel, procure, or advise any such voter, person, or 
officer to do any act hereby made a crime, or to omit any act 
the omission of which is hereby made a crime, every such person 
shall be deemed guilty of a crime, and shall be liable to prose- 
cution and punishment therefor as provided in section nineteen 
of said act of May thirty-one, eighteen hundred and seventy, 
for persons guilty of any of the crimes therein specified : Pro- 
vided, That every registration made under the laws of any State 
or Territory for any State or other election at which such rep- 
resentative or delegate in Congress shall be chosen, shall be 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 2$ I 

deemed to be a registration within the meaning of this act, not- 
withstanding the same shall also be made for the purposes of 
any State, territorial, or municipal election," 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That whenever in any city 
or town having upward of twenty thousand inhabitants, there 
shall be two citizens thereof who, prior to any registration of 
voters for an election for representative or delegate in the Con- 
gress of the United States, or prior to any election at which a 
representative or delegate in Congress is to be voted for, shall 
make known, in writing, to the judge of the circuit court of the 
United States for the circuit wherein such city or town shall be, 
their desire to have said registration, or said election, or both, 
guarded and scrutinized, it shall be the duty of the said judge 
of the circuit court, within not less than ten days prior to said 
registration, if one there be, or, if no registration be required, 
within not less than ten days prior to said election, to open the 
said circuit court at the most convenient point in said circuit. 
And the said court, when so opened by said judge, shall proceed 
to appoint and commission, from day to day and from time to 
time, and under the hand of the said circuit judge, and under the 
seal of said court, for each election district or voting precinct 
in each and every such city or town as shall, in the manner 
herein prescribed, have applied therefor, and to revoke, change, 
or renew said appointment from time to time, two citizens, resi- 
dents of said city or town, who shall be of different political 
parties, and able to read and write the English language, and 
who shall be known and designated as supervisors of election. 
And the said circuit court, when opened by the said circuit judge 
as required herein, shall therefrom and thereafter, and up to 
and including the day following the day of election, be always 
open for the transaction of business under this act, and the 
powers and jurisdiction hereby granted and conferred shall be 
exercised as well in vacation as in term time ; and a judge sit- 
ting at chambers shall have the same powers and jurisdiction, 
including the power of keeping order and of punishing any 
contempt of his authority, as when sitting in court. 



252 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [Feb. 28 

Sec. 3. [In case of the inability of the circuit judge to act, 
a district judge to be designated.] 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of 
the supervisors of election, appointed under this act, and they and 
each of them are hereby authorized and required, to attend at 
all times and places fixed for the registration of voters, who, 
being registered, would be entitled to vote for a representative 
or delegate in Congress, and to challenge any person offering 
to register ; to attend at all times and places when the names of 
registered voters may be marked for challenge, and to cause 
such names registered as they shall deem proper to be so 
marked ; to make, when required, the lists, or either of them, 
provided for in section thirteen of this act, and verify the same ; 
and upon any occasion, and at any time when in attendance 
under the provisions of this act, to personally inspect and scru- 
tinize such registry, and for purposes of identification to affix 
their or his signature to each and every page of the original 
list, and of each and every copy of any such list of registered 
voters, at such times, upon each day when any name may or 
shall be received, entered, or registered, and in such manner as 
will, in their or his judgment, detect and expose the improper 
or wrongful removal therefrom, or addition thereto, in any way, 
of any name or names. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall also be the 
duty of the said supervisors of election, and they, and each of 
them, are hereby authorized and required, to attend at all times 
and places for holding elections of representatives or delegates 
in Congress, and for counting the votes cast at said elections ; 
to challenge any vote offered by any person whose legal qualifi- 
cations the supervisors, or either of them, shall doubt ; to be 
and remain where the ballot-boxes are kept at all times after the 
polls are open until each and every vote cast at said time and 
place shall be counted, the canvass of all votes polled be wholly 
completed, and the proper and requisite certificates or returns 
made, whether said certificates or returns be required under any 
law of the United States, or any State, territorial, or municipal 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 253 

law, and to personally inspect and scrutinize, from time to time, 
and at all times, on the day of election, the manner in which the 
voting is done, and the way and method in which the poll- 
books, registry-lists, and tallies or check-books, whether the 
same are required by any law of the United States, or any State, 
territorial, or municipal law, are kept ; and to the end that each 
candidate for the office of representative or delegate in Congress 
shall obtain the benefit of every vote for him cast, the said su- 
pervisors of election are, and each of them is, hereby required, 
in their or his respective election districts or voting precincts, to 
personally scrutinize, count, and canvass each and every ballot 
in their or his election district or voting precinct cast, whatever 
may be the indorsement on said ballot, or in whatever box it 
may have been placed or be found j to make and forward to the 
officer who, in accordance with the provisions of section thirteen 
of this act, shall have been designated as the chief supervisor of 
the judicial district in which the city or town wherein they or he 
shall serve shall be, such certificates and returns of all such 
ballots as said officer may direct and require, and to attach to 
the registry list, and any and all copies thereof, and to any cer- 
tificate, statement, or return, whether the same, or any part or 
portion thereof, be required by any law of the United States, or 
of any State, territorial, or municipal law, any statement touch- 
ing the truth or accuracy of the registry, or the truth or fairness 
of the election and canvass, which the said supervisors of elec- 
tion, or either of them, may desire to make or attach, or which 
should properly and honestly be made or attached, in order that 
the facts may become known, any law of any State or Territory 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the better to enable 
the said supervisors of election to discharge their duties, they 
are, and each of them is, hereby authorized and directed, in 
their or his respective election districts or voting precincts, on 
the day or days of registration, on the day or days when regis- 
tered voters may be marked to be challenged, and on the day 
or days of election, to take, occupy, and remain in such position 



254 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [Feb. 28 

or positions, from time to time, whether before or behind the 
ballot-boxes, as will, in their judgment, best enable them or him 
to see each person offering himself for registration or offering 
to vote, and as will best conduce to their or his scrutinizing the 
manner in which the registration or voting is being conducted ; 
and at the closing of the polls for the reception of votes, they 
are, and each of them is, hereby required to place themselves or 
himself in such position in relation to the ballot-boxes for the 
purpose of engaging in the work of canvassing the ballots in 
said boxes contained as will enable them or him to fully perform 
the duties in respect to such canvass provided in this act, and 
shall there remain until every duty in respect to such canvass, 
certificates, returns, and statements shall have been wholly com- 
pleted, any law of any State or Territory to the contrary not- 
withstanding. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That if any election district 
or voting precinct in any city, town, or village, for which there 
shall have been appointed supervisors of election for any elec- 
tion at which a representative or delegate in Congress shall be 
voted for, the said supervisors of election, or either of them, 
shall not be allowed to exercise and discharge, fully and freely, 
and without briber^', solicitation, interference, hinderance, moles- 
tation, violence, or threats thereof, on the part of or from any 
person or persons, each and every of the duties, obligations, and 
powers conferred upon them by this act and the act hereby 
amended, it shall be the duty of the supervisors of election, and 
each of them, to make prompt report, under oath, within ten 
days after the day of election, to the officer who, in accordance 
with the provisions of section thirteen of this act, shall have 
been designated as the chief supervisor of the judicial district 
in which the city or town wherein they or he served shall be, of 
the manner and means by which they were, or he was, not so 
allowed to fully and freely exercise and discharge the duties and 
obligations required and imposed by this act. And upon re- 
ceiving any such report, it shall be the duty of the said chief 
supervisor, acting both in such capacity and officially as a com- 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 255 

missioner of the circuit court, to forthwith examine into all the 
facts thereof ; to subpoena and compel the attendance before him 
of any witnesses ; administer oaths and take testimony in respect 
to the charges made ; and prior to the assembling of the Con- 
gress for which any such representative or delegate was voted 
for, to have filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives 
of the Congress of the United States all the evidence by him 
taken, all information by him obtained, and all reports to him 
made. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That whenever an election 
at which representatives or delegates in Congress are to be 
chosen shall be held in any city or town of twenty thousand 
inhabitants or upward, the marshal of the United States for 
the district in which said city or town is situated shall have 
power, and it shall be his duty, on the application, in writing, 
of at least two citizens residing in any such city or town, to 
appoint special deputy marshals, whose duty it shall be, when 
required as provided in this act, to aid and assist the supervisors 
of election in the verification of any list of persons made under 
the provisions of this act, who may have registered, or voted, or 
either ; to attend in each election district or voting precinct at 
the times and places fixed for the registration of voters, and at 
all times and places w-hen and where said registration may by 
law be scrutinized, and the names of registered voters be marked 
for challenge ; and also to attend, at all times for holding such 
elections, the polls of the election in such district or precinct. 
And the marshal and his general deputies, and such special 
deputies, shall have power, and it shall be the duty of such 
special deputies, to keep the peace, and support and protect the 
supervisors of elections in the discharge of their duties, pre- 
serve order at such places of registration and at such polls, 
prevent fraudulent registration and fraudulent voting thereat, 
or fraudulent conduct on the part of any officer of election, and 
immediately, either at said place of registration or polling-place, 
or elsewhere, and either before or after registering or voting, 
to arrest and take into custody, with or without process, any 



256 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [Feb. 28 

person who shall commit, or attempt or offer to commit, any of 
the acts or offences prohibited by this act, or the act hereby 
amended, or who shall commit any offence against the laws 
of the United States : Provided, That no person shall be arrested 
without process for any offence not committed in the presence 
of the marshal or his general or special deputies, or either of 
them, or of the supervisors of election, or either of them, and, 
for the purposes of arrest or the preservation of the peace, the 
supervisors of election, and each of them, shall, in the absence 
of the marshal's deputies, or if required to assist such deputies, 
have the same duties and powers as deputy marshals : And 
provided further, That no person shall, on the day or days of 
any such election, be arrested without process for any offence 
committed on the day or days of registration. 

Sec. 9. Aiid be it further enacted, That whenever any arrest 
is made under any provision of this act, the person so arrested 
shall forthwith be brought before a commissioner, judge, or 
court of the United States for examination of the offences 
alleged against him ; and such commissioner, judge, or court 
shall proceed in respect thereto as authorized by law in case 
of crimes against the United States. 

Sec. id. And be it further enacted, That whoever, with or 
without any authority, power, or process, or pretended author- 
ity, power, or process, of any State, territorial, or municipal 
authority, shall obstruct, hinder, assault, or by bribery, solici- 
tation, or otherwise, interfere with or prevent the supervisors 
of election, or either of them, or the marshal or his general or 
special deputies, or either of them, in the performance of any 
duty required of them, or either of them, or which he or they, 
or either of them, may be authorized to perform by any law of 
the United States, whether in the execution of process or other- 
wise, or shall by any of the means before mentioned hinder or 
prevent the free attendance and presence at such places of 
registration or at such polls of election, or full and free access 
and egress to and from any such place of registration or poll 
of election, or in going to and from any such place of registra- 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 257 

tion or poll of election, or to and from any room where any 
such registration or election or canvass of votes, or of making 
any returns or certificates thereof, may be had, or shall molest, 
interfere with, remove, or eject from any such place of registra- 
tion or poll of election, or of canvassing votes cast thereat, or 
of making returns or certificates thereof, any supervisor of elec- 
tion, the marshal, or his general or special deputies, or either 
of them, or shall threaten, or attempt, or offer so to do, or shall 
refuse or neglect to aid and assist any supervisor of election, or 
the marshal or his general or special deputies, or either of them, 
in the performance of his or their duties when required by him 
or them, or either of them, to give such aid and assistance, he 
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and liable to instant arrest 
without process, and on conviction thereof shall be punished 
by imprisonment not more than two years, or by fine not more 
than three thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprison- 
ment, and shall pay the costs of the prosecution. Whoever 
shall, during the progress of any verification of any list of 
the persons who may have registered or voted, and which 
shall be had or made under any of the provisions of this act, 
refuse to answer, or refrain from answering, or answering shall 
knowingly give false information in respect to any inquiry law- 
fully made, such person shall be liable to arrest and imprison- 
ment as for a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be 
punished by imprisonment not to exceed thirty days, or by fine 
not to exceed one hundred dollars, or by both such fine and 
imprisonment, and shall pay the costs of the prosecution. 

Sec. II. [Penalty for refusal of supervisor or deputy marshal 
to act.] 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the marshal, or his 
general deputies, or such special deputies as shall be thereto 
specially empowered by him, in writing, and under his hand 
and seal, whenever he or his said general deputies or his 
special deputies, or either or any of them, shall be forcibly 
resisted in executing their duties under this act, or the act 
hereby amended, or shall, by violence, threats, or menaces, be 
s 



258 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [Feb. 28 

prevented from executing such duties, or from arresting any 
person or persons who shall commit any offence for which said 
marshal or his general or his special deputies are authorized 
to make such arrest, are, and each of them is hereby, em- 
powered to summon and call to his or their aid the bystanders 
or posse comitatus of his district. 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty 
of each of the circuit courts of the United States in and for 
each judicial circuit, upon the recommendation in writing of the 
judge thereof, to name and appoint, on or before the first day 
of May, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and 
thereafter as vacancies may from any cause arise, from among 
the circuit court commissioners in and for each judicial district 
in each of said judicial circuits, one of such officers, who shall 
be known for the duties required of him under this act as the 
chief supervisor of elections of the judicial district in and for 
which he shall be a commissioner, and shall, so long as faithful 
and capable, discharge the duties in this act imposed, and whose 
duty it shall be to prepare and furnish all necessary books, forms, 
blanks, and instructions for the use and direction of the super- 
visors of election in the several cities and towns in their respec- 
tive districts ; to receive the applications of all parties for 
appointment to such positions ; and upon the opening, as con- 
templated in this act, of the circuit court for the judicial circuit 
in which the commissioner so designated shall act, to present 
such applications to the judge thereof, and furnish information 
to said judge in respect to the appointment by the said court of 
such supervisors of election ; to require of the supervisors of 
election, where necessary, lists of the persons who may register 
and vote, or either, in their respective election districts or voting 
precincts, and to cause the names of those upon any such list 
whose right to register or vote shall be honestly doubted to 
be verified by proper inquiry and examination at the respective 
places by them assigned as their residences ; and to receive, 
preserve, and file all oaths of office of said supervisors of elec- 
tion, and of all special deputy marshals appointed under the 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 259 

provisions of this act, and all certificates, returns, reports, and 
records of every kind and nature contemplated or made requi- 
site under and by the provisions of this act, save M-here other- 
wise herein specially directed. And it is hereby made the duty 
of all United States marshals and commissioners who shall in 
any judicial district perform any duties under the provisions of 
this act, or the act hereby amended, relating to, concerning, or 
affecting the election of representatives of [or] delegates in the 
Congress of the United States, to, from time to time, and with 
all due diligence, forward to the chief supervisor in and for their 
judicial district all complaints, examinations, and records per- 
taining thereto, and all oaths of office by them administered to 
any supervisor of election or special deputy marshal, in order 
that the same may be properly preserved and filed. 
Sec. 14. [Pay of supervisors and deputy marshals.] 
Sec. 15. Ani/ be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction of 
the circuit court of the United States shall extend to all cases 
in law or equity arising under the provisions of this act or the 
act hereby amended ; and if any person shall receive any injury 
to his person or property for or on account of any act by him 
done under any of the provisions of this act or the act hereby 
amended, he shall be entitled to maintain suit for damages there- 
for in the circuit court of the United States in the district 
wherein the party doing the injury may reside or shall be 
found. 

Sec. 16. And be it further enacted. That in any case where 
suit or prosecution, civil or criminal, shall be commenced in a 
court of any State against any officer of the United States, or 
other person, for or on account of any act done under the pro- 
visions of this act, or under color thereof, or for or on account 
of any right, authority, or title set up or claimed by such officer 
or other person under any of said provisions, it shall be lawful 
for the defendant in such suit or prosecution, at any time before 
trial, upon a petition to the circuit court of the United States in 
and for the district in which the defendant shall have been 
served with process, setting forth the nature of said suit or 



260 ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT [Feb. 28 

prosecution, and verifying the said petition by affidavit, together 
with a certificate signed by an attorney or counsellor at law of 
some court of record of the State in which such suit shall have 
been commenced, or of the United States, setting forth that as 
counsel for the petition[er] he has examined the proceedings 
against him, and has carefully inquired into all the matters set 
forth in the petition, and that he believes the same to be true, 
which petition, affidavit, and certificate shall be presented to the 
said circuit court, if in session, and, if not, to the clerk thereof 
at his office, and shall be filed in said office, and the cause shall 
thereupon be entered on the docket of said court, and shall be 
thereafter proceeded in as a cause originally commenced in 
that court ; and it shall be the duty of the clerk of said court, 
if the suit was commenced in the court below by summons, to 
issue a writ of certiorari to the State court, requiring said court 
to send to the said circuit court the record and proceedings in 
said cause ; or if it was commenced by capias, he shall issue a 
writ of habeas corpus cum causa, a duplicate of which said writ 
shall be delivered to the clerk of the State court, or left at his 
office by the marshal of the district, or his deputy, or some 
person duly authorized thereto ; and thereupon it shall be the 
duty of the said State court to stay all further proceedings in 
such cause, and the said suit or prosecution, upon delivery of 
such process, or leaving the same as aforesaid, shall be deemed 
and taken to be moved to the said circuit court, and any further 
proceedings, trial, or judgment therein in the State court shall 
be wholly null and void ; and any person, whether an attorney 
or officer of any State court, or otherwise, who shall thereafter 
take any steps, or in any manner proceed in the State court in 
any action so removed, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
liable to trial and punishment in the court to which the action 
shall have been removed, and upon conviction thereof shall be 
punished by imprisonment for not less than six months nor 
more than one year, or by fine not less than five hundred nor 
more than one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and im- 
prisonment, and shall in addition thereto be amenable to the 



1S71] ACT TO ENFORCE THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 26 1 

said court to which said action shall have been removed as for a 
contempt ; and if the defendant in any such suit be in actual 
custody on mesne process therein, it shall be the duty of the 
marshal, by virtue of the writ of habeas corpus cum causa, to 
take the body of the defendant into his custody, to be dealt 
with in the same cause according to the rules of law and the 
order of the circuit court, or of any judge thereof in vacation. 
And all attachments made and all bail or other security given 
upon such suit or prosecution shall be and continue in like 
force and effect as if the same suit or prosecution had proceeded 
to final judgment and execution in the State court. And if upon 
the removal of any such suit or prosecution it shall be made to 
appear to the said circuit court that no copy of the record and 
proceedings therein in the State court can be obtained, it shall 
be lawful for said circuit court to allow and require the plaintiff 
to proceed de novo, and to file a declaration of his cause of 
action, and the parties may thereupon proceed as in actions 
originally brought in said circuit court ; and on failure of so 
proceeding judgment of non prosequitur maybe rendered against 
the plaintiff, with costs for the defendant. 

Sec. 17. [Concerning copies of records and proceedings, 
&c.] 

Sec. 18. And be it further enacted ^T\v2X sections five and six 
of the act of the Congress of the United States approved July 
fourteen, eighteen hundred and seventy, and entitled " An act 
to amend the naturalization laws, and to punish crimes against 
the same," be, and the same are hereby, repealed ; but this 
repeal shall not affect any proceeding or prosecution now 
pending for any offence under the said sections, or either of 
them, or any question which may arise therein respecting the 
appointment of the persons in said sections, or either of them, 
provided for, or the powers, duties, or obligations of such 
persons. 

Sec. 19. And be it further enacted, That all votes for repre- 
sentatives in Congress shall hereafter be by written or printed 
ballot, any law of any State to the contrary notwithstanding ; 



262 ACT TO ENFORCE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT [April 20 

and all votes received or recorded contrary to the provisions of 
this section shall be of none effect.^ 
Approved, February 28, 1871. 



No. 92. Act to enforce the Fourteenth Amend- 
ment 

April 20, 1871 

A BILL to enforce the provisions of the fourteenth amendment was re- 
ported in the House, March 28, 1871, by Samuel Shellabarger of Ohio, from 
the select committee to which had been referred the President's message of 
March 23 on the condition of affairs in the South. The bill formed the prin- 
cipal subject of debate until April 6, when, with amendments, it passed the 
House by a vote of 118 to 91, 18 not voting. The Senate added, among 
others, an amendment offered by Sherman, making counties, cities, parishes, 
etc., Hable for injuries done to any person by reason of his race or color, and 
on the 14th passed the bill, the vote being 45 to 19, 6 not voting. The House, 
by a vote of 45 to 132, 53 not voting, rejected the principal Senate amend- 
ment, and also refused, by a vote of 74 to 106, 50 not voting, to agree to a re- 
port of a conference committee retaining the objectionable section. A second 
conference committee reported a compromise in the terms of section 6 of the 
act. The report was agreed to April 19, in the House by a vote of 93 to 74, 
63 not voting, and in the Senate by a vote of 36 to 13. A proclamation call- 
ing attention to the act as one of " extraordinary public importance " was 
issued May 3. 

References. — T(xt\Vi U.S. Statutes at Large, XVH, 13-15. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 42d Cong., ist Sess., and the Cong. 
Globe. The " Ku Klux " report is House Report 22 and Senate Report 41, 42d 
Cong., 2d Sess. 

An Act to enforce the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment 
to the Constitution of the United States, and for other Purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That any person who, under color of any 
law, statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any 

1 Amended by act of May 3, 1872, by adding the following: "Provided, That 
this section shall not apply to any State voting otherwise whose elections for said 
Representatives shall occur previous to the regular meeting of its legislature next 
after the approval of said act." 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT 263 

State, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any person within 
the jurisdiction of the United States to the deprivation of any 
rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution of 
the United States, shall, any such law, statute, ordinance, regu- 
lation, custom, or usage of the State to the contrary notwith- 
standing, be liable to the party injured in any action at law, suit 
in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress ; such proceed- 
ing to be prosecuted in the several district or circuit courts of 
the United States, with and subject to the same rights of appeal, 
review upon error, and other remedies provided in like cases in 
such courts, under the provisions of the . . . [Civil Rights 
Act] . . ., and the other remedial laws of the United States 
which are in their nature applicable in such cases. 

Sec. 2. That if two or more persons within any State or 
Territory of the United States shall conspire together to over- 
throw, or to put down, or to destroy by force the government of 
the United States, or to levy war against the United States, or 
to oppose by force the authority of the government of the 
United States, or by force, intimidation, or threat to prevent, 
hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or 
by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United 
States contrary to the authority thereof, or by force, intimida- 
tion, or threat to prevent any person from accepting or holding 
any oilfice or trust or place of confidence under the United 
States, or from discharging the duties thereof, or by force, in- 
timidation, or threat to induce any officer of the United States 
to leave any State, district, or place where his duties as such 
officer might lawfully be performed, or to injure him in his per- 
son or property on account of his lawful discharge of the duties 
of his office, or to injure his person while engaged in the lawful 
discharge of the duties of his office, or to injure his property so 
as to molest, interrupt, hinder, or impede him in the discharge 
of his official duty, or by force, intimidation, or threat to deter 
any party or witness in any court of the United States from at- 
tending such court, or from testifying in any matter pending in 
such court fully, freely, and truthfully, or to injure any such 



264 ACT TO ENFORCE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT [April 20 

party or witness in his person or property on account of his 
having so attended or testified, or by force, intimidation, or 
threat to influence the verdict, presentment, or indictment, of 
any juror or grand juror in any court of the United States, or 
to injure such juror in his person or property on account of any 
verdict, presentment, or indictment lawfully assented to by him, 
or on account of his being or having been such juror, or shall 
conspire together, or go in disguise upon the public highway or 
upon the premises of another for the purpose, either directly 
or indirectly, of depriving any person or any class of persons 
of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges or im- 
munities under the laws, or for the purpose of preventing or 
hindering the constituted authorities of any State from giving 
or securing to all persons within such State the equal protection 
of the laws, or shall conspire together for the purpose of in any 
manner impeding, hindering, obstructing, or defeating the due 
course of justice in any State or Territor}^ with intent to deny 
to any citizen of the United States the due and equal protection 
of the laws, or to injure any person in his person or his property 
for lawfully enforcing the right of any person or class of persons 
to the equal protection of the laws, or by force, intimidation, or 
threat to prevent any citizen of the United States lawfully en- 
titled to vote from giving his support or advocacy in a lawful 
manner towards or in favor of the election of any lawfully quali- 
fied person as an elector of President or Vice-President of the 
United States, or as a member of the Congress of the United 
States, or to injure any such citizen in his person or property on 
account of such support or advocacy, each and every person so 
offending shall be deemed guilty of a high crime, and, upon 
conviction thereof in any district or circuit court of the United 
States or district or supreme court of any Territory of the 
United States having jurisdiction of similar offences, shall be 
punished by a fine not less than five hundred nor more than 
five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment, with or without hard 
labor, as the court may determine, for a period of not less than 
six months nor more than six years, as the court may determine. 



1871] ACT TO ENFORCE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT 265 

or by both such fine and imprisonment as the court shall deter- 
mine. And if any one or more persons engaged in any such 
conspiracy shall do, or cause to be done, any act in furtherance 
of the object of such conspiracy, whereby any person shall be 
injured in his person or property, or deprived of having and 
exercising any right or privilege of a citizen of the United 
States, the person so injured or deprived of such rights and 
privileges may have and maintain an action for the recovery of 
damages occasioned by such injury or deprivation of rights and 
privileges against any one or more of the persons engaged in 
such conspiracy, such action to be prosecuted in the proper dis- 
trict or circuit court of the United States, with and subject to 
the same rights of appeal, review upon error, and other reme- 
dies provided in like cases in such courts under the provisions 
of the . . . [Civil Rights Act] . . . 

Sec. 3. That in all cases where insurrection, domestic vio- 
lence, unlawful combinations, or conspiracies in any State shall 
so obstruct or hinder the execution of the laws thereof, and of 
the United States, as to deprive any portion or class of the peo- 
ple of such State of any of the rights, privileges, or immunities, 
or protection, named in the Constitution and secured by this 
act, and the constituted authorities of such State shall either 
be unable to protect, or shall, from any cause, fail in or refuse 
protection of the people in such rights, such facts shall be 
deemed a denial by such State of the equal protection of the 
laws to which they are entitled under the Constitution of the 
United States ; and in all such cases, or whenever any such 
insurrection, violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy shall 
oppose or obstruct the laws of the United States or the due exe- 
cution thereof, or impede or obstruct the due course of justice 
under the same, it shall be lawful for the President, and it shall 
be his duty to take such measures, by the employment of the 
militia or the land and naval forces of the United States, or of 
either, or by other means, as he may deem necessary for the 
suppression of such insurrection, domestic violence, or combina- 
tions ; and any person who shall be arrested under the provi- 



266 ACT TO ENFORCE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT [April 20 

sions of this and the preceding section shall be delivered to 
the marshal of the proper district, to be dealt with according 
to law. 

Sec. 4. That whenever in any State or part of a State the 
unlawful combinations named in the preceding section of this 
act shall be organized and armed, and so numerous and power- 
ful as to be able, by violence, to either overthrow or set at defi- 
ance the constituted authorities of such State, and of the United 
States within such State, or when the constituted authorities are 
in complicity with, or shall connive at the unlawful purposes 
of, such powerful and armed combinations ; and whenever, by 
reason of either or all of the causes aforesaid, the conviction 
of such offenders and the preservation of the public safety shall 
become in such district impracticable, in every such case such 
combinations shall be deemed a rebellion against the govern- 
ment of the United States, and during the continuance of such 
rebellion, and within the limits of the district which shall be so 
under the sway thereof, such limits to be prescribed by procla- 
mation, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, 
when in his judgment the public safety shall require it, to sus- 
pend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus, to the end that 
such rebellion may be overthrown : Provided, That all the pro- 
visions of the second section of an act entitled " An act relating 
to habeas corpus, and regulating judicial proceedings in certain 
cases," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
which relate to the discharge of prisoners other than prisoners 
of war, and to the penalty for refusing to obey the order of the 
court, shall be in full force so far as the same are applicable to 
the provisions of this section : Provided further, That the Presi- 
dent shall first have made proclamation, as now provided by 
law, commanding such insurgents to disperse : And provided 
also, That the provisions of this section shall not be in force 
after the end of the next regular session of Congress. 

Sec. 5. That no person shall be a grand or petit juror in 
any court of the United States upon any inquiry, hearing, or 
trial of any suit, proceeding, or prosecution based upon or aris- 



iSji] ACT TO ENFORCE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT 267 

ing under the provisions of this act who shall, in the judgment 
of the court, be in complicity with any such combination or con- 
spiracy ; and every such juror shall, before entering upon any 
such inquiry, hearing, or trial, take and subscribe an oath in 
open court that he has never, directly or indirectly, counselled, 
advised, or voluntarily aided any such combination or conspir- 
acy ; and each and every person who shall take this oath, and 
shall therein swear falsely, shall be guilty of perjury, and shall 
be subject to the pains and penalties declared against that crime, 
and the first section of the act entitled " An act defining addi- 
tional causes of challenge and prescribing an additional oath for 
grand and petit jurors in the United States courts," approved 
June seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, be, and the 
same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 6. That any person or persons, having knowledge that 
any of the wrongs conspired to be done and mentioned in the 
second section of this act are about to be committed, and hav- 
ing power to prevent or aid in preventing the same, shall neglect 
or refuse so to do, and such wrongful act shall be committed, 
such person or persons shall be liable to the person injured, or 
his legal representatives, for all damages caused by any such 
wrongful act which such first-named person or persons by reason- 
able diligence could have prevented ; and such damages may be 
recovered in an action on the case in the proper circuit court 
of the United States, and any number of persons guilty of such 
wrongful neglect or refusal may be joined as defendants in such 
action : Provided, That such action shall be commenced within 
one year after such cause of action shall have accrued ; and if 
the death of any person shall be caused by any such wrongful 
act and neglect, the legal representatives of such deceased per- 
son shall have such action therefor, and may recover not exceed- 
ing five thousand dollars damages therein, for the benefit of the 
widow of such deceased person, if any there be, or if there be 
no widow, for the benefit of the next of kin of such deceased 
person. 

Sec. 7. That nothing herein contained shall be construed to 



268 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

supersede or repeal any former act or law except so far as the 
same may be repugnant thereto ; and any offences heretofore 
committed against the tenor of any former act shall be prose- 
cuted, and any proceeding already commenced for the prosecu- 
tion thereof shall be continued and completed, the same as if 
this act had not been passed, except so far as the provisions of 
this act may go to sustain and validate such proceedings. 
Approved, April 20, 187 1. 



No. 93. Treaty of Washington 

May 8, 1871 

Of the unsettled diplomatic questions between Great Britain and the 
United States in 1871, the most important were those regarding the north- 
western boundary, under the treaty of June 15, 1847; claims of American 
citizens for property captured or destroyed by Confederate vessels of war fitted 
out in England, commonly known as the " Alabama claims " ; claims against 
the United States for losses by British subjects during the Civil War, and the 
fisheries. A treaty referring the Alabama claims to arbitration was rejected 
by the Senate in April, 1869. The existing grounds of dispute were dealt 
with by the treaty of Washington, concluded May 8, 1871. September 14, 
1872, the Geneva tribunal awarded to the United States ^15,500,000 in satis- 
faction of the claims presented. A court of commissioners of Alabama claims 
was created by act of June 23, 1874, and reestablished by act of June 5, 
1882. 

References. — r^xi" in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVII, 863-877. The 
documents are collected in Papers relating to the Treaty of Washington ; 
British Case and Evidence ; British Counter Case; Claims of the United 
States against Great Britain, and Documents and Proceedings of the Halifax 
Commission. The text of the award is in Wharton, International Law Digest, 
III, 631-635. On the treaty see Gushing, Treaty of IVashington ; Moore, 
International Arbitrations, chaps. 14 and 15, and Appendix K ; J. C. B. 
Davis, in Treaties ajid Conventions, 1333-1335, 1 363-1 367 ; C. F. Adams, 
Treaty of Washington(\n Lee at Appomattox and Other Essays) ; C. F. Adams, 
Charles Erancis Adams, chap. 19 ; Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, II, 
chap. 20. On the rejected treaty see Sumner's speech of April 13, 1869, in 
Co}zg. Globe, 41st Cong., ist Sess., Appendix, 21-26. The Alabama claims 



1871] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 269 

were much discussed in the forty-second Congress, second and third sessions. 
There are numerous statutes relating to these claims. 

The United States of America and Her Britannic Majesty, 
being desirous to provide for an amicable settlement of all 
causes of difference between the two countries, have for that 
purpose appointed their respective Plenipotentiaries, that is to 
say : The President of the United States has appointed, on the 
part of the United States, as Commissioners in a Joint High 
Commission and Plenipotentiaries, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of 
State ; Robert Cumming Schenck, Envoy Extraordinary and 
Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain ; Samuel Nelson, an 
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ; 
Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, of Massachusetts ; and George 
Henry Williams, of Oregon ; and Her Britannic Majesty, on 
her part, has appointed as her High Commissioners and Pleni- 
potentiaries, the Right Honourable George Frederick Samuel, 
Earl de Grey and Earl of Ripon, Viscount Goderich, Baron 
Grantham, a Baronet, a Peer of the United Kingdom, Lord 
President of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, 
Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, etc., etc.; the 
Right Honourable Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, Baronet, one 
of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Prixy Council, a Member 
of Parliament, a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of 
the Bath, etc., etc. ; Sir Edward Thornton, Knight Commander 
of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Her Majesty's 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the 
United States of America ; Sir John Alexander Macdonald, 
Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, 
a Member of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada, and 
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Her Majesty's 
Dominion of Canada; and Mountague Bernard, Esquire, 
Chichele Professor of International Law in the University of 
Oxford. 

And the said Plenipotentiaries, after having exchanged their 
full powers, which were found to be in due and proper form, 
have agreed to and concluded the following articles : 



270 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

Article I. 

Whereas differences have arisen between the Government of 
the United States and the Government of Her Britannic Maj- 
esty, and still exist, growing out of the acts committed by the 
several vessels which have given rise to the claims generically 
known as the " Alabama Claims : " 

And whereas Her Britannic Majesty has authorized her High 
Commissioners and Plenipotentiaries to express, in a friendly 
spirit, the regret felt by Her Majesty's Government for the 
escape, under whatever circumstances, of the Alabama and 
other vessels from British ports, and for the depredations com- 
mitted by those vessels : 

Now, in order to remove and adjust all complaints and claims 
on the part of the United States, and to provide for the speedy 
settlement of such claims which are not admitted by Her Bri- 
tannic Majesty's Government, the high contracting parties agree 
that all the said claims, growing out of acts committed by the 
aforesaid vessels, and generically known as the " Alabama 
claims," shall be referred to a tribunal of arbitration to be 
composed of five Arbitrators, to be appointed in the following 
manner, that is to say : One shall be named by the President of 
the United States ; one shall be named by Her Britannic Maj- 
esty ; His Majesty the King of Italy shall be requested to name 
one ; the President of the Swiss Confederation shall be requested 
to name one ; and His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil shall be 
requested to name one. 

[Vacancies, how filled.] 

And in the event of the refusal or omission for two months 
after receipt of the request from either of the high contracting 
parties of His Majesty the King of Italy, or the President of 
the Swiss Confederation, or His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil, 
to name an Arbitrator either to fill the original appointment or 
in the place of one who may have died, be absent, or incapaci- 
tated, or who may omit, decline, or from any cause cease to act 
as such Arbitrator, His Majesty the King of Sweden and Nor- 



1S71] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 2/1 

way shall be requested to name one or more persons, as the 
case may be, to act as such Arbitrator or Arbitrators. 

Article II, 

The Arbitrators shall meet at Geneva, in Switzerland, at the 
earliest convenient day after they shall have been named, and 
shall proceed impartially and carefully to examine and decide 
all questions that shall be laid before them on the part of the 
Governments of the United States and Her Britannic Majesty 
respectively. All questions considered by the tribunal, includ- 
ing the final award, shall be decided by a majority of all the 
Arbitrators. 

Each of the high contracting parties shall also name one per- 
son to attend the tribunal as its agent to represent it generally 
in all matters connected with the arbitration. 

Article III. 

The written or printed case of each of the two parties, accom- 
panied by the documents, the official correspondence, and other 
evidence on which each relies, shall be delivered in duplicate to 
each of the Arbitrators and to the Agent of the other party as 
soon as maybe after the organization of the tribunal, but within 
a period not exceeding six months from the date'of the exchange 
of the ratifications of this treaty. 

Article IV. 

Within four months after the delivery on both sides of the 
written or printed case, either party may, in like manner, deliver 
in duplicate to each of the said Arbitrators, and to the Agent of 
the other party, a counter case and additional documents, corre- 
spondence, and evidence, in reply to the case, documents, cor- 
respondence, and evidence so presented by the other party. 

[Time may be extended.] 

If in the case submitted to the Arbitrators either party shall 
have specified or alluded to any report or document in its own 



272 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

exclusive possession without annexing a copy, such party shall 
be bound, if the other party thinks proper to apply for it, to 
furnish that party with a copy thereof ; and either party may 
call upon the other, through the Arbitrators, to produce the 
originals or certified copies of any papers adduced as evidence, 
giving in each instance such reasonable notice as the Arbitra- 
tors may require. 

Article V. 

It shall be the duty of the Agent of each party, within two 
months after the expiration of the time limited for the delivery 
of the counter case on both sides, to deliver in duplicate to each 
of the said Arbitrators and to the Agent of the other party a 
written or printed argument showing the points and referring to 
the evidence upon which his Government relies ; and the Arbi- 
trators may, if they desire further elucidation with regard to 
any point, require a written or printed statement or argument, 
or oral argument by counsel upon it ; but in such case the other 
party shall be entitled to reply either orally or in writing, as the 
case may be. 

Article VI. 

In deciding the matters submitted to the Arbitrators, they 
shall be governed by the following three rules, which are agreed 
upon by the high contracting parties as rules to be taken as 
applicable to the case, and by such principles of international 
law not inconsistent therewith as the Arbitrators shall determine 
to have been applicable to the case. 

RULES. 

A neutral Government is bound — 

First, to use due diligence to prevent the fitting out, arming, 
or equipping, within its jurisdiction, of any vessel which it has 
reasonable ground to believe is intended to cruise or to carry 
on war against a Power with which it is at peace ; and also to 
use like diligence to prevent the departure from its jurisdiction 
of any vessel intended to cruise or carry on war as above, such 



1871] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 2/3 

vessel having been specially adapted, in whole or in part, within 
such jurisdiction, to warlike use. 

Secondly, not to permit or sufifer either belligerent to make 
use of its ports or waters as the base of naval operations against 
the other, or for the purpose of the renewal or augmentation of 
military supplies or arms, or the recruitment of men. 

Thirdly, to exercise due diligence in its own ports and waters, 
and, as to all persons within its jurisdiction, to prevent any vio- 
lation of the foregoing obligations and duties. 

Her Britannic Majesty has commanded her High Commis- 
sioners and Plenipotentiaries to declare that Her Majesty's 
Government cannot assent to the foregoing rules as a state- 
ment of principles of international law which were in force at 
the time when the claims mentioned in Article I arose, but 
that Her Majesty's Government, in order to evince its desire 
of strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries 
and of making satisfactory provision for the future, agrees that 
in deciding the questions between the two countries arising out 
of those claims, the Arbitrators should assume that Her Majesty's 
Government had undertaken to act upon the principles set forth 
in these rules. 

And the high contracting parties agree to observe these rules 
as between themselves in future, and to bring them to the knowl- 
edge of other maritime Powers, and to invite them to accede to 
them. 

Article VII. 

The decision of the tribunal shall, if possible, be made within 
three months from the close of the argument on both sides. 

It shall be made in writing and dated, and shall be signed by 
the Arbitrators who may assent to it. 

The said tribunal shall first determine as to each vessel sepa- 
rately whether Great Britain has, by any act or omission, failed 
to fulfil any of the duties set forth in the foregoing three rules, 
or recognized by the principles of international law not incon- 
sistent with such rules, and shall certify such fact as to each of 

T 



2/4 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

the said vessels. In case the tribunal find that Great Britain 
has failed to fulfil any duty or duties as aforesaid, it may, if it 
think proper, proceed to award a sum in gross to be paid by 
Great Britain to the United States for all the claims referred 
to it ; and in such case the gross sum so awarded shall be paid 
in coin by the Government of Great Britain to the Government 
of the United States, at Washington, within twelve months after 
the date of the award. 

[Award to be in duplicate.] 

Article VIII. 
[Expenses of the arbitration.] 

Article IX. 
[Arbitrators to keep a record.] 

Article X. 

In case the tribunal finds that Great Britain has failed to 
fulfil any duty or duties as aforesaid, and does not award a 
sum in gross, the high contracting parties agree that a board 
of assessors shall be appointed to ascertain and determine what 
claims are valid, and what amount or amounts shall be paid by 
Great Britain to the United States on account of the liability 
arising from such failure, as to each vessel, according to the 
extent of such liability as decided by the Arbitrators. 

The board of assessors shall be constituted as follows : One 
member thereof shall be named by the President of the United 
States, one member thereof shall be named by Her Britannic 
Majesty, and one member thereof shall be named by the Rep- 
resentative at Washington of His Majesty the King of Italy ; 
and in case of a vacancy happening from any cause, it shall be 
filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was 
made. 



1 87 1] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 2/5 

As soon as possible after such nominations the board of 
assessors shall be organized in Washington, with power to hold 
their sittings there, or in New York, or in Boston. The mem- 
bers thereof shall severally subscribe a solemn declaration that 
they will impartially and carefully examine and decide, to the 
best of their judgment and according to justice and equity, all 
matters submitted to them, and shall forthwith proceed, under 
such rules and regulations as they may prescribe, to the investi- 
gation of the claims which shall be presented to them by the 
Government of the United States, and shall examine and decide 
upon them in such order and manner as they may think proper, 
but upon such evidence or information only as shall be furnished 
by or on behalf of the Governments of the United States and 
of Great Britain, respectively. They shall be bound to hear on 
each separate claim, if required, one person on behalf of each 
Government, as counsel or agent. A majority of the Assessors 
in each case shall be sufficient for a decision. 

The decision of the Assessors shall be given upon each claim 
in writing, and shall be signed by them respectively and dated. 

Every claim shall be presented to the Assessors within six 
months from the day of their first meeting, but they may, for 
good cause shown, extend the time for the presentation of any 
claim to a further period not exceeding three months. 

The Assessors shall report to each Government, at or before 
the expiration of one year from the date of their first meeting, 
the amount of claims decided by them up to the date of such 
report ; if further claims then remain undecided, they shall 
make a further report at or before the expiration of two years 
from the date of such first meeting ; and in case any claims 
remain undetermined at that time, they shall make a final report 
within a further period of six months. 

[Reports to be in duplicate.] 

All sums of money which may be awarded under this article 
shall be payable at Washington, in coin, within twelve months 
after the delivery of each report. 

[Clerks and expenses.] 



2^6 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

Article XI. 

The high contracting parties engage to consider the result of 
the proceedings of the tribunal of arbitration and of the board 
of Assessors, should such board be appointed, as a full, perfect, 
and final settlement of all the claims hereinbefore referred to ; 
and further engage that every such claim, whether the same 
may or may not have been presented to the notice of, made, 
preferred, or laid before the tribunal or board, shall, from and 
after the conclusion of the proceedings of the tribunal or board, 
be considered and treated as finally settled, barred, and thence- 
forth inadmissible. 

Article XII. 

The high contracting parties agree that all claims on the part 
of corporations, companies, or private individuals, citizens of 
the United States, upon the Government of Her Britannic 
Majesty, arising out of acts committed against the persons or 
property of citizens of the United States during the period be- 
tween the thirteenth of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, 
and the ninth of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, inclusive, 
not being claims growing out of the acts of the vessels referred 
to in Article I of this treaty, and all claims, with the like excep- 
tion, on the part of corporations, companies, or private individ- 
uals, subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, upon the Government 
of the United States, arising out of acts committed against the 
persons or property of subjects of Her Britannic Majesty during 
the same period, which may have been presented to either Gov- 
ernment for its interposition with the other, and which yet re- 
main unsettled, as well as any other such claims which may be 
presented within the time specified in Article XIV of this treaty, 
shall be referred to three Commissioners, to be appointed in the 
following manner, that is to say: One Commissioner shall be 
named by the President of the United States, one by Her Bri- 
tannic Majesty, and a third by the President of the United States 
and Her Britannic Majesty conjointly; and in case the third 



1871] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 2// 

Commissioner shall not have been so named within a period 
of three months from the date of the exchange of the ratifica- 
tions of this treaty, then the third Commissioner shall be named 
by the Representative at Washington of His Majesty the King 
of Spain. . . . 

The Commissioners so named shall meet at Washington at 
the earliest convenient period after they have been respectively 
named ; and shall, before proceeding to any business, make and 
subscribe a solemn declaration that they will impartially and 
carefully examine and decide, to the best of their judgment, 
and according to justice and equity, all such claims as shall be 
laid before them on the part of the Governments of the United 
States and of Her Britannic Majesty, respectively ; and such 
declaration shall be entered on the record of their proceedings. 

Article XIII. 

The Commissioners shall then forthwith proceed to the in- 
vestigation of the claims which shall be presented to them. 
They shall investigate and decide such claims in such order 
and such manner as they may think proper, but upon such 
evidence or information only as shall be furnished by or on 
behalf of the respective Governments. They shall be bound 
to receive and consider all written documents or statements 
which may be presented to them by or on behalf of the respec- 
tive Governments in support of, or in answer to, any claim, and 
to hear, if required, one person on each side, on behalf of each 
Government, as counsel or agent for such Government, on each 
and every separate claim. A majority of the Commissioners 
shall be sufficient for an award in each case. The award shall 
be given upon each claim in writing, and shall be signed by the 
Commissioners assenting to it. It shall be competent for each 
Government to name one person to attend the Commissioners 
as its agent, to present and support claims on its behalf, and to 
answer claims made upon it, and to represent it generally in all 
matters connected with the investigation and decision thereof. 

The high contracting parties hereby engage to consider the 



278 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

decision of the Commissioners as absolutely final and conclusive 
upon each claim decided upon by them, and to give full effect 
to such decisions without any objection, evasion, or delay what- 
soever. 

Article XIV. 

Every claim shall be presented to the Commissioners within 
six months from the day of their first meeting, unless in any 
case where reasons for delay shall be established to the satisfac- 
tion of the Commissioners, and then, and in any such case, the 
period for presenting the claim may be extended by them to any 
time not exceeding three months longer. 

The Commissioners shall be bound to examine and decide 
upon every claim within two years from the day of their first 
meeting. It shall be competent for the Commissioners to decide 
in each case whether any claim has or has not been duly made, 
preferred, and laid before them, either wholly or to any and 
what extent, according to the true intent and meaning of this 
treaty. 

Article XV. 

All sums of money which may be awarded by the Commis- 
sioners on account of any claim shall be paid by the one Gov- 
ernment to the other, as the case may be, within twelve months 
after the date of the final award, without interest, and without 
any deduction save as specified in Article XVI of this treaty. 

Article XVI. 
[Records of commissioners, expenses, &c.] 

Article XVII. 

The high contracting parties engage to consider the result of 
the proceedings of this commission as a full, perfect, and final 
settlement of all such claims as are mentioned in Article XII 
of this treaty upon either Government ; and further engage that 
ever^' such claim, whether or not the same may have been pre- 
sented to the notice of, made, preferred, or laid before the said 



1 87 1] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 279 

commission, shall, from and after the conclusion of the proceed- 
ings of the said commission, be considered and treated as finally 
settled, barred, and thenceforth inadmissible. 

Article XVIII.^ 

It is agreed by the high contracting parties that, in addition 
to the liberty secured to the United States fishermen by the 
convention between the United States and Great Britain, signed 
at London on the 20th day of October, 18 18, of taking, curing, 
and drying fish on certain coasts of the British North Amer- 
ican Colonies therein defined, the inhabitants of the United 
States shall have, in common with the subjects of Her Britan- 
nic Majesty, the liberty, for the term of years mentioned in 
Article XXXIII of this treaty, to take fish of every kind, except 
shell-fish, on the sea-coasts and shores, and in the bays, har- 
bours, and creeks, of the provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and 
New Brunswick, and the colony of Prince Edward's Island, and 
of the several islands thereunto adjacent, without being restricted 
to any distance from the shore, with permission to land upon the 
said coasts and shores and islands, and also upon the Magdalen 
Islands, for the purpose of drying their nets and curing their 
fish ; provided that, in so doing, they do not interfere with the 
rights of private property, or with British fishermen, in the 
peaceable use of any part of the said coasts in their occupancy 
for the same purpose. 

It is understood that the above-mentioned liberty applies 
solely to the sea fishery, and that the salmon and shad fisheries, 
and all other fisheries in rivers and the mouths of rivers, are 
hereby reserved exclusively for British fishermen. 

Article XIX. 

It is agreed by the high contracting parties that British sub- 
jects shall have, in common with the citizens of the United 

1 A joint resolution of March 3, 1883, gave notice to terminate after two years 
Articles XVIII-XXVof the treaty. 



280 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

States, the liberty, for the term of years mentioned in Article 
XXXIII of this treaty, to take fish of every kind, except shell- 
fish, on the eastern sea-coasts and shores of the United States 
north of the thirty-ninth parallel of north latitude, and on the 
shores of the several islands thereunto adjacent, and in the bays, 
harbours, and creeks of the said sea-coasts and shores of the 
United States and of the said islands, without being restricted 
to any distance from the shore, with permission to land upon 
the said coasts of the United States and of the islands afore- 
said, for the purpose of drying their nets and curing their fish ; 
provided that, in so doing, they do not interfere with the rights 
of private property, or with the fishermen of the United States 
in the peaceable use of any part of the said coasts in their occu- 
pancy for the same purpose. 

It is understood that the above-mentioned liberty applies 
solely to the sea fishery, and that salmon and shad fisheries, and 
all other fisheries in rivers and mouths of rivers, are hereby 
reserved exclusively for fishermen of the United States. 

Article XX. 

It is agreed that the places designated by the Commissioners 
appointed under the first article of the treaty between the United 
States and Great Britain, concluded at Washington on the 5th 
of June, 1854, upon the coasts of Her Britannic Majesty's 
dominions and the United States, as places reserved from the 
common right of fishing under that treaty, shall be regarded as 
in like manner reserved from the common right of fishing under 
the preceding articles. In case any question should arise be- 
tween the Governments of the United States and of Her Bri- 
tannic Majesty as to the common right of fishing in places not 
thus designated as reserved, it is agreed that a commission shall 
be appointed to designate such places, and shall be constituted 
in the same manner, and have the same powers, duties, and 
authority as the commission appointed under the said first 
article of the treaty of the 5th of June, 1854. 



1871] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 28 1 

Article XXL 

It is agreed that, for the term of years mentioned in Article 
XXXIII of this treaty, fish oil and fish of all kinds, (except fish 
of the inland lakes, and of the rivers falling into them, and ex- 
cept fish preserved in oil,) being the produce of the fisheries of 
the United States, or of the Dominion of Canada, or of Prince 
Edward's Island, shall be admitted into each country, respec- 
tively, free of duty. 

Article XXII. 

[Commissioners to determine the compensation, if any, to be 
paid by the United States for privileges granted by Article 
XVIII of this treaty.] 

Article XXIII. 

The Commissioners referred to in the preceding article shall 
be appointed in the following manner, that is to say : One Com- 
missioner shall be named by the President of the United States, 
one by Her Britannic Majesty, and a third by the President of 
the United States and Her Britannic Majesty conjointly; and 
in case the third Commissioner shall not have been so named 
within a period of three months from the date when this article 
shall take effect, then the third Commissioner shall be named by 
the Representative at London of His Majesty the Emperor of 
Austria and King of Hungary. . . . such substitution being 
calculated from the date of the happening of the vacancy. 

The Commissioners so named shall meet in the city of Hali- 
fax, in the province of Nova Scotia, at the earliest convenient 
period after they have been respectively named . . . 

Each of the high contracting parties shall also name one per- 
son to attend the commission as its Agent, to represent it gener- 
ally in all matters connected with the commission. 

Article XXIV. 

The proceedings shall be conducted in such order as the 
Commissioners appointed under Articles XXII and XXIII of 



282 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

this treaty shall determine. They shall be bound to receive 
such oral or written testimony as either Government may pre- 
sent. If either party shall offer oral testimony, the other party 
shall have the right of cross-examination, under such rules as 
the Commissioners shall prescribe. 

If in the case submitted to the Commissioners either party 
shall have specified or alluded to any report or document in its 
own exclusive possession, without annexing a copy, such party 
shall be bound, if the other party thinks proper to apply for it, 
to furnish that party with a copy thereof ; and either party may 
call upon the other, through the Commissioners, to produce the 
originals or certified copies of any papers adduced as evidence, 
giving in each instance such reasonable notice as the Commis- 
sioners may require. 

The case on either side shall be closed within a period of six 
months from the date of the organization of the Commission, 
and the Commissioners shall be requested to give their award as 
soon as possible thereafter. The aforesaid period of six months 
may be extended for three months in case of a vacancy occur- 
ring among the Commissioners under the circumstances contem- 
plated in Article XXIII of this treaty. 

Article XXV. 
[Records, expenses, &c.] 

Article XXVI. 

The navigation of the river St. Lawrence, ascending and 
descending, from the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude, where 
it ceases to form the boundary between the two countries, from, 
to, and into the sea, shall forever remain free and open for the 
purposes of commerce to the citizens of the United States, 
subject to any laws and regulations of Great Britain, or of the 
Dominion of Canada, not inconsistent with such privilege of 
free navigation. 

The navigation of the rivers Yukon, Porcupine, and Stikine, 



1871] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 283 

ascending and descending, from, to, and into the sea, shall for- 
ever remain free and open for the purposes of commerce to the 
subjects of Her Britannic Majesty and to the citizens of the 
United States, subject to any laws and regulations of either 
country within its own territory, not inconsistent with such privi- 
lege of free navigation. 

Article XXVII. 

The Government of Her Britannic Majesty engages to urge 
upon the Government of the Dominion of Canada to secure to 
the citizens of the United States the use of the Welland, St. Law- 
rence, and other canals in the Dominion on terms of equality 
with the inhabitants of the Dominion ; and the Government of 
the United States engages that the subjects of Her Britannic 
Majesty shall enjoy the use of the St. Clair Flats canal on terms 
of equality with the inhabitants of the United States, and further 
engages to urge upon the State Governments to secure to the 
subjects of Her Britannic Majesty the use of the several State 
canals connected with the navigation of the lakes or rivers 
traversed by or contiguous to the boundary line between the 
possessions of the high contracting parties, on terms of equality 
with the inhabitants of the United States. 

Article XXVIII. 

The navigation of Lake Michigan shall also, for the term of 
years mentioned in Article XXXIII of this treaty, be free and 
open for the purposes of commerce to the subjects of Her 
Britannic Majesty, subject to any laws and regulations of the 
United States or of the States bordering thereon not incon- 
sistent with such privilege of free navigation. 

Article XXIX. 

It is agreed that, for the term of years mentioned in Article 
XXXIII of this treaty, goods, wares, or merchandise arriving 
at the ports of New York, Boston, and Portland, and any other 



284 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

ports in the United States which have been or may, from time 
to time, be specially designated by the President of the United 
States, and destined for Her Britannic Majesty's possessions in 
North America, may be entered at the proper custom-house and 
conveyed in transit, without the payment of duties, through the 
territory of the United States, under such rules, regulations, 
and conditions for the protection of the revenue as the Gov- 
ernment of the United States may from time to time prescribe ; 
and under like rules, regulations, and conditions, goods, wares, 
or merchandise may be conveyed in transit, without the pay- 
ment of duties, from such possessions through the territory of 
the United States for export from the said ports of the United 
States. 

It is further agreed that, for the like period, goods, wares, or 
merchandise arriving at any of the ports of Her Britannic Maj- 
esty's possessions in North America and destined for the United 
States may be entered at the proper custom-house and conveyed 
in transit, without the payment of duties, through the said pos- 
sessions, under such rules and regulations, and conditions for the 
protection of the revenue, as the Governments of the said pos- 
sessions may from time to time prescribe ; and under like rules, 
regulations, and conditions goods, wares, or merchandise may 
be conveyed in transit, without payment of duties, from the 
United States through the said possessions to other places in 
the United States, or for export from ports in the said pos- 
sessions. 

Article XXX. 

It is agreed that, for the term of years mentioned in Article 
XXXIII of this treaty, subjects of Her Britannic Majesty may 
carry in British vessels, without payment of duty, goods, wares, 
or merchandise from one port or place within the territory of 
the United States upon the St. Lawrence, the great lakes, and 
the rivers connecting the same, to another port or place within 
the territory of the United States as aforesaid : Provided, That a 
portion of such transportation is made through the Dominion 



1871] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 285 

of Canada by land carriage and in bond, under such rules and 
regulations as may be agreed upon between the Government 
of Her Britannic Majesty and the Government of the United 
States. 

Citizens of the United States may for the like period carry 
in United States vessels, without payment of duty, goods, wares, 
or merchandise from one port or place within the possessions of 
Her Britannic Majesty in North America, to another port or 
place within the said possessions : Provided, That a portion of 
such transportation is made through the territory of the United 
States by land carriage and in bond, under such rules and regu- 
lations as may be agreed upon between the Government of the 
United States and the Government of Her Britannic Majesty. 

The Government of the United States further engages not to 
impose any export duties on goods, wares, or merchandise car- 
ried under this article through the territory of the United States ; 
and Her Majesty's Government engages to urge the Parliament 
of the Dominion of Canada and the Legislatures of the other 
colonies not to impose any export duties on goods, wares, or 
merchandise carried under this article ; and the Government of 
the United States may, in c^se such export duties are imposed 
by the Dominion of Canada, suspend, during the period that 
such duties are imposed, the right of carrying granted under 
this article in favor of the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty. 

The Government of the United States may suspend the right 
of carrying granted in favor of the subjects of Her Britannic 
Majesty under this article in case the Dominion of Canada 
should at any time deprive the citizens of the United States of 
the use of the canals of the said Dominion on terms of equality 
with the inhabitants of the Dominion, as provided in Article 
XXVH. 

Article XXXI. 

The Government of Her Britannic Majesty further engages 
to urge upon the Parliament of the Dominion of Canada and 
the Legislature of New Brunswick, that no export duty, or other 



286 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

duty, shall be levied on lumber or timber of any kind cut on 
that portion of the American territory in the State of Maine 
watered by the river St. John and its tributaries, and floated 
down that river to the sea, when the same is shipped to the 
United States from the province of New Brunswick. And, in 
case any such export or other duty continues to be levied after 
the expiration of one year from the date of the exchange of the 
ratifications of this treaty, it is agreed that the Government of 
the United States may suspend the right of carrying hereinbe- 
fore granted under Article XXX of this treaty for such period 
as such export or other duty may be levied. 

Article XXXII. 

It is further agreed that the provisions and stipulations of Articles 
XVIII to XXV of this treaty, inclusive, shall extend to the colony 
of Newfoundland, so far as they are applicable. But if the Imperial 
Parliament, the Legislature of Newfoundland, or the Congress of 
the United States, shall not embrace the colony of Newfoundland 
in their laws enacted for carrying the foregoing articles into effect, 
then this article shall be of no effect ; but the omission to make 
provision by law to give it effect, by either of the legislative bodies 
aforesaid, shall not in any way impair any other articles of this 
treaty. 

Article XXXIII. 

The foregoing Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX 
of this treaty shall take effect as soon as the laws required to carry 
them into operation shall have been passed by the Imperial Parlia- 
ment of Great Britain, by the Parliament of Canada, and by the 
Legislature of Prince Edward's Island on the one hand, and by 
the Congress of the United States on the other. Such assent 
having been given, the said articles shall remain in force for the 
period of ten years from the date at which they may come into 
operation ; and further until the expiration of two years after 
either of the high contracting parties shall have given notice to 
the other of its wish to terminate the same ; each of the high con- 



1871] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 287 

tracting parties being at liberty to give such notice to the other at 
the end of the said period of ten years or at any time afterward. 

Article XXXIV. 

Whereas it was stipulated by Article I of the treaty concluded at 
Washington on the 15th of June, 1846, between the United States 
and Her Britannic Majesty, that the Hne of boundary between the 
territories of the United States and those of Her Britannic Majesty, 
from the point of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude up to 
which it had already been ascertained, should be continued west- 
ward along the said parallel of north latitude '* to the middle of the 
channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and 
thence southerly, through the middle of the said channel and of 
Fuca Straits, to the Pacific Ocean ; " and whereas the Commissioners 
appointed by the two high contracting parties to determine that 
portion of the boundary which runs southerly through the middle 
of the channel aforesaid, were unable to agree upon the same ; 
and whereas the Government of Her Britannic Majesty claims that 
such boundary line should, under the terms of the treaty above 
recited, be run through the Rosario Straits, and the Government 
of the United States claims that it should be run through the Canal 
de Haro, it is agreed that the respective claims of the Government 
of the United States and of the Government of Her Britannic Maj- 
esty shall be submitted to the arbitration and award of His Majesty 
the Emperor of Germany, who, having regard to the above-men- 
tioned article of the said treaty, shall decide thereupon, finally and 
without appeal, which of those claims is most in accordance with 
the true interpretation of the treaty of June 15, 1846. 

Article XXXV. 

The award of His Majesty the Emperor of Germany shall be 
considered as absolutely final and conclusive ; and full effect shall 
be given to such award without any objection, evasion, or delay 
whatsoever. Such decision shall be given in writing and dated ; 
it shall be in whatsoever form His Majesty may choose to adopt ; it 



288 TREATY OF WASHINGTON [May 8 

shall be delivered to the Representatives or other public Agents 
of the United States and of Great Britain, respectively, who may be 
actually at Berlin, and shall be considered as operative from the 
day of the date of the delivery thereof. 

Article XXXVI. 

The written or printed case of each of the two parties, accom- 
panied by the evidence offered in support of the same, shall be 
laid before His Majesty the Emperor of Germany within six months 
from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, and 
a copy of such case and evidence shall be communicated by each 
party to the other, through their respective Representatives at 
Berlin. 

The high contracting parties may include in the evidence to 
be considered by the Arbitrator such documents, official correspon- 
dence, and other official or public statements bearing on the sub- 
ject of the reference as they may consider necessary to the support 
of their respective cases. 

After the written or printed case shall have been communicated 
by each party to the other, each party shall have the power of draw- 
ing up and laying before the Arbitrator a second and definitive 
statement, if it thinks fit to do so, in reply to the case of the other 
party so communicated, which definitive statement shall be so laid 
before the Arbitrator, and also be mutually communicated in the 
same manner as aforesaid, by each party to the other, within six 
months from the date of laying the first statement of the case 
before the Arbitrator. 

Article XXXVII. 

If, in the case submitted to the Arbitrator, either party shall 
specify or allude to any report or document in its own exclusive 
possession without annexing a copy, such party shall be bound, 
if the other party thinks proper to apply for it, to furnish that 
party with a copy thereof, and either party may call upon the 
other, through the Arbitrator, to produce the originals or certified 
copies of any papers adduced as evidence, giving in each instance 



1 87 1] TREATY OF WASHINGTON 289 

such reasonable notice as the Arbitrator may require. And if the 
Arbitrator should desire further elucidation or evidence with regard 
to any point contained in the statements laid before him, he shall 
be at liberty to require it from either party, and he shall be at 
liberty to hear one Counsel or Agent for each party, in relation 
to any matter, and at such time, and in such manner, as he may 
think fit. 

Article XXXVIII. 

The Representatives or other public Agents of the United 
States and of Great Britain at Berlin, respectively, shall be consid- 
ered as the Agents of their respective Governments to conduct 
their cases before the Arbitrator, who shall be requested to address 
all his communications and give all his notices to such Representa- 
tives or other public Agents, who shall represent their respective 
Governments generally, in all matters connected with the arbitra- 
tion. 

Article XXXIX. 

It shall be competent to the Arbitrator to proceed in the said 
arbitration, and all matters relating thereto, as and when he shall 
see fit, either in person, or by a person or persons named by him 
for that purpose, either in the presence or absence of either or 
both Agents, and either orally, or by written discussion or otherwise. 

Article XL. 
[Clerk, expenses, &c.] 

Article XLI. 

The Arbitrator shall be requested to deliver, together with his 
award, an account of all the costs and expenses which he may 
have been put to, in relation to this matter, which shall forthwith 
be repaid by the two Governments in equal moieties. 

Article XLII. 

The Arbitrator shall be requested to give his award in writing as 
early as convenient after the whole case on each side shall have 

u 



290 ACT REMOVING POLITICAL DISABILITIES [May 22 

been laid before him, and to deliver one copy thereof to each of 
the said Agents. 

Article XLIII. 

The present treaty shall be duly ratified by the President of the 
United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate thereof, and by Her Britannic Majesty ; and the ratifi- 
cations shall be exchanged either at Washington or at London 
within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible. 



No. 94. Act removing Political Disabilities 

May 22, 1872 

May 13, 1872, the House having before it a number of bills for the removal 
of the political disabilities of the persons named therein, the rules were sus- 
pended, and a general bill for the removal of disabilities imposed by the 
fourteenth amendment was introduced by Butler of Massachusetts, from the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and passed. The Senate passed the bill on the 21st 
by a vote of 38 to 2. The debate was without special interest. The disabili- 
ties not provided for by this act were removed by an act of June 6, 1898. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVII, 142. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 42d Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. 

An Act to remove political Disabilities imposed by the fourteenth 
Article of the Amendments of the Constitution of the United 
States. 

Be it enacted . . ., (two-thirds of each house concurring 
therein). That all political disabihties imposed by the third sec- 
tion of the fourteenth article of amendments of the Constitution 
of the United States are hereby removed from all persons whom- 
soever, except Senators and Representatives of the thirty-sixth 
and thirty-seventh Congresses, officers in the judicial, military, 
and naval service of the United States, heads of departments, and 
foreign ministers of the United States. 

Approved, May 22, 1872. 



1872] SUPPLEMENTARY FEDERAL ELECTION LAW 29 1 

No. 95. Supplementary Federal Election Law 

June 10, 1872 

A BILL making appropriations for sundry civil expenses was reported in the 
House, May 9, 1 872, by Garfield of Ohio, and passed on the 23d. June 7, in the 
Senate, William P. Kellogg of Louisiana submitted an amendment altering and 
extending the act of February 28, 1871 [No. 91], relative to the right of citi- 
zens to vote. The proposition gave rise to heated discussion, the amendment 
being objected to not only as a " rider," but also as an attempt to engraft upon 
the bill an election bill then before the House. The bill with amendments 
passed the Senate, after an all-night session, by a vote of 32 to 10, 32 not vot- 
ing. The report of a conference committee was accepted by the House on 
the 8th, by a vote of 102 to 79, 59 not voting, and by the Senate on the loth 
by a vote of 39 to 17. All laws relating to supervisors of elections, special 
deputy marshals, etc., were repealed by an act of February 8, 1894. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVII, 348, 349. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 42d Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Co7ig. Record, See also House Reports 79, 120, and Jj^, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., 
and Senate Exec. Doc, 8, 46th Cong., ist Sess. 

An Act making Appropriations for sundry civil Expenses of the Gov- 
ernment/or the fiscal Year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 
and seventy-three, and for other Purposes. 



JUDICIARY. 

For defraying the expenses of the courts of the United States, 
including the District of Columbia ; for jurors and witnesses, and 
expenses of suits in which the United States are concerned, of 
prosecutions for offences committed against the United States ; 
for the safe-keeping of prisoners ; and for the expenses which may 
be incurred in the enforcement of the act, relative to the right of 
citizens to vote, of February twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-one, or any acts amendatory thereof or supplementary 
thereto, three million two hundred thousand dollars ; of which 
sum two hundred thousand dollars shall be available for the 
expenses incurred during the present fiscal year, the said act 



292 SUPPLEMENTARY FEDERAL ELECTION LAW [June lo 

being hereby supplemented and amended so as to fm-ther provide 
as follows : " That whenever, in any county or parish, in any con- 
gressional district, there shall be ten citizens thereof of good stand- 
ing who, prior to any registration of voters for an election for 
representative in Congress, or prior to any election at which a 
representative in Congress is to be voted for, shall make known, 
in writing, to the judge of the circuit court of the United States 
for the district wherein such county or parish is situate, their 
desire to have said registration or election both guarded and scru- 
tinized, it shall be the duty of the said judge of the circuit court, 
within not less than ten days prior to said registration or election, 
as the case may be, to open the said court at the most convenient 
point in said district ; and the said court, when so opened by said 
judge, shall proceed to appoint and commission, from day to day, 
and from time to time, and under the hand of the said judge, and 
under the seal of said court, for such election district or voting 
precinct in said congressional district, as shall, in the manner 
herein prescribed, have been applied for, and to revoke, change, 
or renew said appointment from time to time, two citizens, resi- 
dents of said election district or voting precinct in said county or 
parish, who shall be of different political parties, and able to read 
and write the English language, and who shall be known and desig- 
nated as supervisors of election ; and the said court, when opened 
by the said judge as required herein, shall, therefrom and there- 
after and up to and including the day following the day of the 
election, be always open for the transaction of business under this 
act; and the powers and jurisdiction hereby granted and con- 
ferred shall be exercised, as well in vacation as in term time ; and 
a judge, sitting at chambers, shall have the same powers and juris- 
diction, including the power of keeping order and of punishing 
any contempt of his authority, as when sitting in the court : Pro- 
vided, That no compensation shall be allowed to the supervisors 
herein authorized to be appointed, except those appointed in cities 
or towns of twenty thousand or more inhabitants. And no person 
shall be appointed under this act as supervisor of election who is 
not at the time of his appointment a qualified voter of the county, 



1872] SUPPLEMENTARY FEDERAL ELECTION LAW 293 

parish, election district, or voting precinct for which he is appointed. 
And no person shall be appointed deputy-marshal under the act 
of which this is amendatory, who is not a qualified voter at the 
time of his appointment, in the county, parish, district, or pre- 
cinct in which his duties are to be performed. And section thir- 
teen of the act of which this is an amendment shall be construed 
to authorize and require the circuit courts of the United States in 
said section mentioned to name and appoint, as soon as may be 
after the passage of this act, the commissioners provided for in 
said section, in all cases in which such appointments have not 
already been made in conformity therewith. And the third sec- 
tion of the act to which this is an amendment shall be taken and 
construed to authorize each of the judges of the circuit courts of 
the United States to designate one or more of the judges of the 
district courts within his circuit to discharge the duties arising 
under this act or the act to which this is an amendment. And 
the words ' any person ' in section four of the act of May thirty- 
first, eighteen hundred and seventy, shall be held to include any 
officer or other person having powers or duties of an official char- 
acter under this act or the act to which this is an amendment : Pro- 
vided, That nothing in this section shall be so construed as to 
authorize the appointment of any marshals or deputy-marshals in 
addition to those heretofore authorized by law : Atid provided 
further, That the supervisors herein provided for shall have no 
power or authority to make arrests or to perform other duties than 
to be in the immediate presence of the officers holding the elec- 
tion, and to witness all their proceedings, including the counting 
of the votes and the making of a return thereof. And so much of 
said sum herein appropriated as may be necessary for said supple- 
mental and amendatory provisions is hereby appropriated from 
and after the passage of this act." 



294 COINAGE ACT [Feb. 12 

No. 96. Coinage Act 

February 12, 1873 

The need of a revision of the laws relating to the mints, assay offices, and 
coinage was suggested as early as 1866, and April 25, 1870, a report on the 
subject, prepared by John Jay Knox, comptroller of the currency, was sub- 
mitted to Congress, together with the draft of a bill. A bill in accordance 
with this report was reported in the Senate, December 19, 1870, by Sherman, 
and passed that body January 10, 1871. A substitute reported in the House 
February 25 was recommitted. A second bill to the same effect was intro- 
duced in the House, March 3, by WiUiam D. Kelley of Pennsylvania, and 
referred to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. The bill was 
not reported until January 9, 1872, and the next day was recommitted. A bill 
with similar title was reported, February 9, by Hooper of Massachusetts, and 
also recommitted. The latter bill was taken up April 9, and May 27 a substi- 
tute offered by Hooper was passed under suspension of the rules. The Senate 
referred the bill to the Committee on Finance, and the session closed without 
further action. December 16 the bill was reported in the Senate, further 
amendments being reported January 7, 1873. The bill was taken up on the 
17th, and passed with amendments the same day. The final form of the bill 
was the work of a conference committee. The omission of the standard sil- 
ver dollar of 412I grains from the list of coins led later to the charge that the 
act aimed to demonetize silver, and caused the advocates of silver to refer to 
the act as the " crime of 1873." Only those sections of the act giving the 
list of coins are inserted here. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVH, 424-436, passim. 
For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 41st Cong., 3d Sess., 
and 42d Cong., and the Cong. Record; see also the Record, 53d Cong., ist 
Sess., pp. 1219-1224. Knox's report is Senate Misc. Doc. 132, 41st Cong., 2d 
Sess. ; the correspondence connected with it is in House Exec. Doc. J07. On 
the act see Dewey, Financial History, 403-405, and references there given; 
Sherman, Recollections, H, 1063-1065; White, Money and Banking, 213-223. 

An Act revising and amending the Laws relative to the Mints, 

Assay-offices, and Coinage of the United States. 

******* 

Sec. 14. That the gold coins of the United States shall be a 

one-dollar piece, which, at the standard weight of twenty-five 

and eight-tenths grains, shall be the unit of value ; a quarter-eagle, 

or two-and-a-half dollar piece ; a three-dollar piece ; a half-eagle, 



1873] COINAGE ACT 295 

or five-dollar piece ; an eagle, or ten-dollar piece ; and a double 
eagle, or twenty-dollar piece. And the standard weight of the 
gold dollar shall be twenty-five and eight-tenths grains ; of the 
quarter-eagle, or two-and-a-half dollar piece, sixty-four and a half 
grains ; of the three-dollar piece, seventy-seven and four-tenths 
grains ; of the half-eagle, or five-dollar piece, one hundred and 
twenty-nine grains ; of the eagle, or ten-dollar piece, two hundred 
and fifty-eight grains ; of the double-eagle, or twenty-dollar piece, 
five hundred and sixteen grains ; which coins shall be a legal 
tender in all payments at their nominal value when not below the 
standard weight and limit of tolerance provided in this act for the 
single piece, and, when reduced in weight, below said standard 
and tolerance, shall be a legal tender at valuation in proportion 
to their actual weight ; and any gold coin of the United States, if 
reduced in weight by natural abrasion not more than one-half of 
one per centum below the standard weight prescribed by law, 
after a circulation of twenty years, as shown by its date of coinage, 
and at a ratable proportion for any period less than twenty years, 
shall be received at their nominal value by the United States 
treasury and its offices, under such regulations as the Secretary of 
the Treasury may prescribe for the protection of the government 
against fraudulent abrasion or other practices ; and any gold coins 
in the treasury of the United States reduced in weight below this 
limit of abrasion shall be recoined. 

Sec. 15. That the silver coins of the United States shall be a 
trade-dollar, a half-dollar, or fifty-cent piece, a quarter-dollar, or 
twenty-five-cent piece, a dime, or ten-cent piece ; and the weight 
of the trade-dollar shall be four hundred and twenty grains troy ; 
the weight of the half-dollar shall be twelve grams (grammes) and 
one-half of a gram, (gramme ;) the quarter-dollar and the dime 
shall be respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said 
half-dollar ; and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal 
value for any amount not exceeding five dollars in anyone payment. 

Sec. 16. That the minor coins of the United States shall be a 
five-cent piece, a three-cent piece, and a one-cent piece, and the 
alloy for the five and three cent pieces shall be of copper and 



296 UNITED STATES NOTES AND BANK CURRENCY [June 20 

nickel, to be composed of three-fourths copper and one-fourth 
nickel, and the alloy of the one-cent piece shall be ninety-five per 
centum of copper and five per centum of tin and zinc, in such 
proportions as shall be determined by the director of the mint. 
The weight of the piece of five cents shall be seventy-seven and 
sixteen-hundredths grains, troy; of the three-cent piece, thirty 
grains ; and of the one-cent piece, forty-eight grains ; which coins 
shall be a legal tender, at their nominal value, for any amount not 
exceeding twenty-five cents in any one payment. 

Sec. 17. That no coins, either of gold, silver, or minor coinage, 
shall hereafter be issued from the mint other than those of the 
denominations, standards, and weights herein set forth. 



No. 97. Act regarding United States Notes 
and National Bank Currency 

June 20, 1874 

A BILL " to amend the several acts providing a national currency and to 
establish free banking" was reported in the House, January 29, 1874, by 
Maynard of Tennessee, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, as a 
substitute for various bills previously referred to the committee. April 10 a 
substitute amendment was agreed to by a vote of 149 to 95, 46 not voting, 
and the next day the amended bill passed the House, the final vote being 129 
to 116, 45 not voting. A substitute was reported in the Senate May 6, and 
was agreed to with various amendments on the 14th, the vote on the passage 
of the bill being 25 to 19. The House, by a vote of 70 to 164, disagreed to the 
Senate amendments. June 13 the report of a conference committee proposing 
the House substitute was agreed to by the Senate by a vote of 32 to 23, but 
rejected by the House by a vote of 108 to 146, 35 not voting. A second 
report was accepted June 20, in the House by a vote of 221 to 40, 28 not vot- 
ing, in the Senate by a vote of 43 to 19. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVIH, 123-125. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 43d Cong., 1st Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. An abstract of the original House bill is in the Record for 
January 29; the text of the Senate substitute, ibid., May 6. For Sherman's 
opinion of the act see his Recollections, I, 508. 



1874] UNITED STATES NOTES AND BANK CURRENCY 297 

An act fixing the amount of United States notes, providing for a redistribution 
of the national-bank currency, and for other purposes. 

Be it etiacted . . ., That the act entitled " An act to provide 
a national currency secured by a pledge of United States bonds, 
and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof," ap- 
proved June third, eighteen hundred and sixty four, shall here- 
after be known as " the national-bank act." 

Sec. 2. That section thirty-one of "the national-bank act" be 
so amended that the several associations therein provided for 
shall not hereafter be required to keep on hand any amount of 
money whatever, by reason of the amount of their respective cir- 
culations ; but the moneys required by said section to be kept at 
all times on hand shall be determined by the amount of deposits 
in all respects, as provided for in the said section. 

Sec. 3. That every association organized, or to be organized, 
under the provisions of the said act, and of the several acts 
amendatory thereof, shall at all times keep and have on deposit 
in the treasury of the United States, in lawful money of the 
United States, a sum equal to five per centum of its circulation, 
to be held and used for the redemption of such circulation ; 
which sum shall be counted as a part of its lawful reserve, as 
provided in section two of this act ; and when the circulating 
notes of any such associations, assorted or unassorted, shall be 
presented for redemption, in sums of one thousand dollars, or 
any multiple thereof, to the Treasurer of the United States, the 
same shall be redeemed in United States notes. All notes so 
redeemed shall be charged by the Treasurer of the United States 
to the respective associations issuing the same, and he shall 
notify them severally, on the first day of each month, or oftener, 
at his discretion, of the amount of such redemptions ; and when- 
ever such redemptions for any association shall amount to the 
sum of five hundred dollars, such association so notified shall 
forthwith deposit with the Treasurer of the United States a sum 
in United States notes equal to the amount of its circulating- 
notes so redeemed. And all notes of national banks worn, de- 
faced, mutilated, or otherwise unfit for circulation shall, when 



298 UNITED STATES NOTES AND BANK CURRENCY [June 20 

received by any assistant treasurer, or at any designated deposi- 
tory of the United States, be forwarded to the Treasurer of the 
United States for redemption as provided herein. And vi^hen 
such redemptions have been so re-imbursed, the circulating-notes 
so redeemed shall be forwarded to the respective associations by 
which they were issued ; but if any of such notes are worn, muti- 
lated, defaced, or rendered otherwise unfit for use, they shall be 
forwarded to the Comptroller of the Currency and destroyed and 
replaced as now provided by law : Provided, That each of said 
associations shall re-imburse to the Treasury the charges for 
transportation, and the costs for assorting such notes ; and the 
associations hereafter organized shall also severally re-imburse to 
the Treasury the cost of engraving such plates as shall be ordered 
by each association respectively ; and the amount assessed upon 
each association shall be in proportion to the circulation re- 
deemed, and be charged to the fund on deposit with the Treas- 
urer : And provided further, That so much of section thirty-two 
of said national-bank act requiring or permitting the redemption 
of its circulating notes elsewhere than at its own counter, except 
as provided for in this section, is hereby repealed. 

Sec. 4. That any association organized under this act, or any 
of the acts of which this is an amendment, desiring to withdraw 
its circulating notes, in whole or in part, may, upon the deposit 
of lawful money with the Treasurer of the United States in sums 
of not less than nine thousand dollars, take up the bonds which 
said association has on deposit with the Treasurer for the security 
of such circulating-notes ; which bonds shall be assigned to the 
bank in the manner specified in the nineteenth section of the 
national-bank act ; and the outstanding notes of said association, 
to an amount equal to the legal-tender notes deposited, shall be 
redeemed at the Treasury of the United States, and destroyed 
as now provided by law : Provided, That the amount of the bonds 
on deposit for circulation shall not be reduced below fifty thou- 
sand dollars. 

Sec. 5. [Charter numbers of associations to be printed on 
national- bank notes.] 



1874] UNITED STATES NOTES AND BANK CURRENCY 299 

Sec. 6. That the amount of United States notes outstanding, 
and to be used as a part of the circulating-medium, shall not ex- 
ceed the sum of three hundred and eighty-two million dollars, 
which said sum shall appear in each monthly statement of the 
public debt, and no part thereof shall be held or used as a reserve. 

Sec. 7. That so much of the act entitled " An act to provide 
for the redemption of the three per centum temporary loan cer- 
tificates, and for an increase of national bank notes " as provides 
that no circulation shall be withdrawn under the provisions of 
section six of said act, until after the fifty-four millions granted 
in section one of said act shall have been taken up, is hereby 
repealed ; and it shall be the duty of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
to proceed forthwith, and he is hereby authorized and required, 
from time to time, as applications shall be duly made therefor, 
and until the full amount of fifty-five million dollars shall be 
withdrawn, to make requisitions upon each of the national banks 
described in said section, and in the manner therein provided, 
organized in States having an excess of circulation, to withdraw 
and return so much of their circulation as by said act may be 
apportioned to be withdrawn from them, or, in lieu thereof, to 
deposit in the Treasury of the United States lawful money suffi- 
cient to redeem such circulation, and upon the return of the 
circulation required, or the deposit of lawful money, as herein 
provided, a proportionate amount of the bonds held to secure 
the circulation of such association as shall make such return or 
deposit shall be surrendered to it. 

Sec. 8. That upon the failure of the national banks upon which 
requisition for circulation shall be made, or of any of them, to 
return the amount required, or to deposit in the Treasury lawfiil 
money to redeem the circulation required, within thirty days, the 
Comptroller of the Currency shall at once sell, as provided in 
section forty-nine of the national-currency act approved June 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, bonds held to secure the 
redemption of the circulation of the association or associations 
which shall so fail, to an amount sufficient to redeem the circu- 



300 UNITED STATES NOTES AND BANK CURRENCY [June 20 

lation required of such association or associations, and with the 
proceeds, which shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United 
States, so much of the circulation of such association or associa- 
tions shall be redeemed as will equal the amount required and 
not returned and if there be any excess of proceeds over the 
amount required for such redemption, it shall be returned to the 
association or associations whose bonds shall have been sold. 
And it shall be the duty of the Treasurer, assistant treasurers, 
designated depositaries, and national bank depositaries of the 
United States, who shall be kept informed by the Comptroller 
of the Currency of such associations as shall fail to return cir- 
culation as required, to assort and return to the Treasury for 
redemption the notes of such associations as shall come into 
their hands until the amount required shall be redeemed, and in 
like manner to assort and return to the Treasury, for redemption, 
the notes of such national banks as have failed, or gone into 
voluntary liquidation for the purpose of winding up their affairs, 
and of such as shall hereafter so fail or go into liquidation. 

Sec. 9. That from and after the passage of this act it shall be 
lawful for the Comptroller of the Currency, and he is hereby 
required, to issue circulating-notes without delay, as applications 
therefor are made, not to exceed the sum of fifty-five million dol- 
lars, to associations organized, or to be organized, in those States 
and Territories having less than their proportion of circulation, 
under an apportionment made on the basis of population and of 
wealth, as shown by the returns of the census of eighteen hundred 
and seventy ; and every association hereafter organized shall be 
subject to, and be governed by, the rules, restrictions, and limita- 
tions, and possess the rights, privileges, and franchises, now or 
hereafter to be prescribed by law as to national banking associa- 
tions, with the same power to amend, alter, and repeal provided 
by " the national bank act : ' Provided, That the whole amount 
of circulation withdrawn and redeemed from banks transacting 
business shall not exceed fifty-five million dollars, and that such 
circulation shall be withdrawn and redeemed as it shall be neces- 
sary to supply the circulation previously issued to the banks in 



1874] RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS 3OI 

those States having less than their apportionment : And provided 
further, That not more than thirty miUion dollars shall be with- 
drawn and redeemed as herein contemplated during the fiscal 
year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five. 
Approved, June 20, 1874. 



No. 98. Resumption of Specie Payments 

January 14, 1875 

One result of the financial crisis which began in September, 1873, was the 
introduction, in the next session of Congress, of an extraordinary number of 
bills relating to banks and the currency. A bill providing for the redemption 
and reissue of United States notes, with gradual payment of the notes in coin 
or bonds after January i, 1876, was reported in the Senate by Sherman, 
March 23, 1874, and passed that body April 6 and the House April 14, but 
was vetoed by President Grant. A bill to provide for the resumption of 
specie payments, prepared in the first instance by a committee of the Republi- 
can members of Congress, and submitted by them to the Senate Committee on 
Finance, was reported by Sherman December 21, and passed the Sen- 
ate the next day by a vote of 32 to 14. The bill was taken up in the 
House January 7, 1875, and passed the same day, the vote being 136 to 98, 
54 not voting. President Grant communicated his approval in a special mes- 
sage to the Senate, in which further legislation to make the law effective was 
suggested. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XVIII, 296. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 43d Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. On resumption see Sherman, Recollections, I, chaps. 24-26 ; 
II, chaps. 30 and 36 ; annual reports of the Secretary of the Treasury 
(Sherman) for 1877-1879 ; Dewey, Financial History, chap. 15 ; House 
Misc. Doc. 48, 45th Cong., 2d Sess. 

An act to provide for the resumption of specie payments. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby authorized and required, as rapidly as practicable, to 
cause to be coined at the mints of the United States, silver coins 
of the denominations often, twenty-five, and fifty cents, of stand- 
ard value, and to issue them in redemption of an equal number 



302 RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYxMENTS [Jan. 14 

and amount of fractional currency of similar denominations, or, at 
his discretion, he may issue such silver coins through the mints, 
the subtreasuries, public depositaries, and post-ofifices of the 
United States ; and, upon such issue, he is hereby authorized 
and required to redeem an equal amount of such fractional cur- 
rency, until the whole amount of such fractional currency out- 
standing shall be redeemed. 

Sec. 2. That so much of section three thousand five hundred 
and twenty-four of the Revised Statutes of the United States as 
provides for a charge of one-fifth of one per centum for convert- 
ing standard gold bullion into coin is hereby repealed, and here- 
after no charge shall be made for that service. 

Sec. 3. That section five thousand one hundred and seventy- 
seven of the Revised Statutes of the United States, limiting the 
aggregate amount of circulating-notes of national banking-asso- 
ciations, be, and is hereby, repealed ; and each existing banking- 
association may increase its circulating-notes in accordance with 
existing law without respect to said aggregate limit; and new 
banking-associations may be organized in accordance with existing 
law without respect to said aggregate limit; and the provi- 
sions of law for the withdrawal and redistribution of national- 
bank currency among the several States and Territories are 
hereby repealed. And whenever, and so often, as circulating- 
notes shall be issued to any such banking-association, so in- 
creasing its capital or circulating-notes, or so newly organized 
as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury 
to redeem the legal-tender United States notes in excess only of 
three hundred million of dollars, to the amount of eighty per cen- 
tum of the sum of national-bank notes so issued to any such bank- 
ing-association as aforesaid, and to continue such redemption as 
such circulating-notes are issued until there shall be outstanding 
the sum of three hundred million dollars of such legal-tender 
United States notes, and no more. And on and after the first 
day of January, anno Domini eighteen hundred and seventy- 
nine, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem, in coin, the 
United States legal-tender notes then outstanding on their presen- 



1875] SECOND CIVIL RIGHTS ACT 303 

tation for redemption, at the office of the assistant treasurer of 
the United States in the city of New York/ in sums of not less 
than fifty dollars. And to enable the Secretary of the Treasury 
to prepare and provide for the redemption in this act authorized 
or required, he is authorized to use any surplus revenues, from 
time to time, in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to 
issue, sell, and dispose of, at not less than par, in coin, either of 
the descriptions of bonds of the United States described in the 
act of Congress approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and 
seventy, entitled, " An act to authorize the refunding of the 
national debt," with like qualities, privileges, and exemptions, 
to the extent necessary to carry this act into full effect, and to 
use the proceeds thereof for the purposes aforesaid. And all 
provisions of law inconsistent with the provisions of this act are 
hereby repealed. 

Approved, January 14, 1875. 



No. 99. Civil Rights Act 

March i, 1875 

An amendment offered by Sumner to the amnesty act of May 22, 1872 
[No. 94], forbidding discrimination against negroes in certain public places 
and elsewhere, was lost by a vote of 29 to 30. A bill of similar purport was 
called up in the Senate December il, 1872, and passed over. Another bill 
passed the Senate April 30, 1873, but failed in the House. A third bill was 
introduced in the House, December 18, by Butler of Massachusetts, from the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and January 7, 1874, was recommitted. A fourth 
civil rights bill passed the Senate May 22, but was not acted on by the House. 
A substitute for Butler's bill was reported December 16, and February 4, 1875, 
passed the House with amendments, the vote being 162 to 100, 27 not voting. 
The bill was reported in the Senate on the 15th without amendment, and 
passed the same day by a vote of 38 to 26. 

References. — Text in U.S Statutes at Large, XVIII, 335-337. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 43d Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. See also Pierce, Sumner, IV, chaps. 57 and 59. 

1 An act of March 3, 1887, chap. 378, added San Francisco. 



304 SECOND CIVIL RIGHTS ACT [March i 

An act to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights. 

Whereas, it is essential to just government we recognize the 
equality of all men before the law, and hold that it is the duty of 
government in its dealings with the people to mete out equal and 
exact justice to all, of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, 
religious or political; and it being the appropriate object of legis- 
lation to enact great fundamental principles into law : Therefore, 

Be it enacted . . ., That all persons within the jurisdiction of 
the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment 
of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of 
inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other 
places of public amusement ; subject only to the conditions and 
limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of 
every race and color, regardless of any previous condition of 
servitude. 

Sec. 2. That any person who shall violate the foregoing section 
by denying to any citizen, except for reasons by law applicable to 
citizens of every race and color, and regardless of any previous 
condition of servitude, the full enjoyment of any of the accommo- 
dations, advantages, facilities, or privileges in said section enu- 
merated, or by aiding or inciting such denial, shall, for every such 
offense, forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars to the 
person aggrieved thereby, to be recovered in an action of debt, 
with full costs ; and shall also, for every such offense, be deemed 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be 
fined not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dol- 
lars, or shall be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more 
than one year : Provided, That all persons may elect to sue for 
the penalty aforesaid or to proceed under their rights at common 
law and by State statutes ; and having so elected to proceed in 
the one mode or the other, their right to proceed in the other 
jurisdiction shall be barred. But this proviso shall not apply to 
criminal proceedings, either under this act or the criminal law 
of any State : Atid provided further, That a judgment for the 
penalty in favor of the party aggrieved, or a judgment upon an 
indictment, shall be a bar to either prosecution respectively. 



i87S] SECOND CIVIL RIGHTS ACT 305 

Sec. 3. That the district and circuit courts of the United 
States shall have, exclusively of the courts of the several States, 
cognizance of all crimes and offenses against, and violations of, 
the provisions of this act ; and actions for the penalty given by 
the preceding section may be prosecuted in the territorial, district, 
or circuit courts of the United States wherever the defendant may 
be found, without regard to the other party ; and the district attor- 
neys, marshals, and deputy marshals of the United States, and 
commissioners appointed by the circuit and territorial courts of 
the United States, with powers of arresting and imprisoning or 
bailing offenders against the laws of the United States, are hereby 
specially authorized and required to institute proceedings against 
every person who shall violate the provisions of this act, and cause 
him to be arrested and imprisoned or bailed, as the case may be, 
for trial before such court of the United States, or territorial court, 
as by law has cognizance of the offense, except in respect of the 
right of action accruing to the person aggrieved ; and such dis- 
trict attorneys shall cause such proceedings to be prosecuted to 
their termination as in other cases : Provided, That nothing con- 
tained in this section shall be construed to deny or defeat any 
right of civil action accruing to any person, whether by reason of 
this act or otherwise ; and any district attorney \vho shall willfully 
fail to institute and prosecute the proceedings herein required, 
shall, for every such offense, forfeit and pay the sum of five hun- 
dred dollars to the person aggrieved thereby, to be recovered by 
an action of debt, with full costs, and shall, on conviction thereof, 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be fined not less than 
one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars : And provided 
further, That a judgment for the penalty in favor of the party 
aggrieved against any such district attorney, or a judgment upon 
an indictment against any such district attorney, shall be a bar to 
either prosecution respectively. 

Sec. 4. That no citizen possessing all other qualifications which 
are or may be prescribed by law shall be disqualified for service 
as grand or petit juror in any court of the United States, or of 
any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servi- 

X 



306 ISSUE OF SILVER COIN [July 22 

tude ; and any officer or other person charged with any duty in 
the selection or summoning of jurors who shall exclude or fail to 
summon any citizen for the cause aforesaid shall, on conviction 
thereof, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be fined not 
more than five thousand dollars. 

Sec. 5. That all cases arising under the provisions of this act 
in the courts of the United States shall be reviewable by the 
Supreme Court of the United States, without regard to the sum 
in controversy, under the same provisions and regulations as are 
now provided by law for the review of other causes in said court. 

Approved, March i, 1875. 

No. 100. Joint Resolution for the Issue of 
Silver Coin 

July 22, 1876 

A JOINT resolution for the issue of silver coin without limitation as to 
amount was introduced in the House May i, 1876, by Rufus S. Frost of 
Massachusetts. An amended bill, drawn in accordance with the suggestions 
of the Treasurer of the United States, was reported, May 2, by the Committee 
on Banking and Currency. In submitting the amended bill it was stated that 
fractional currency was at the time commanding a premium of from three to 
three and one-half per cent. The resolution passed the House June 10. The 
Senate on the 21st, on motion of Sherman, added the section terminating the 
legal tender character of the trade dollar, and passed the bill. The bill was 
favorably reported in the House June 28, but the House added further amend- 
ments, and the bill went to a conference committee. The report of the com- 
mittee was concurred in by the House, July 13, by a vote of 129 to 76, 82 not 
voting, and by the Senate the next day without a division. 

References. — Tex^ in U.S. Statutes at Large, XIX, 215. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 44th Cong., 1st Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. The important discussion was over the report of the confer- 
ence committee. On the trade dollar see Senate Exec. Doc. 80 and House 
Misc. Doc. 44, 45th Cong., 2d Sess.; House Misc. Doc. 11, 46th Cong., ist 
Sess.; House Report jj4, 46th Cong., 2d Sess. 

Joint resolution for the issue of silver coin. 
Resolved . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury, under such 
limits and regulations as will best secure a just and fair distribu- 



1876] ISSUE OF SILVER COIN 307 

tion of the same through the country, may issue the silver coin at 
any time in the Treasury to an amount not exceeding ten milKon 
dollars, in exchange for an equal amount of legal-tender notes ; 
and the notes so received in exchange shall be kept as a special 
fund separate and apart from all other money in the Treasury, and 
be reissued only upon the retirement and destruction of a like sum 
of fractional currency received at the Treasury in payment of dues 
to the United States ; and said fractional currency, when so sub- 
stituted, shall be destroyed and held as part of the sinking fund, 
as provided in the act approved April seventeen, eighteen hundred 
and seventy-six. 

Sec. 2. That the trade dollar shall not hereafter be a legal 
tender, and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to 
limit from time to time, the coinage thereof to such an amount as 
he may deem sufficient to meet the export demand for the same. 

Sec. 3. That in addition to the amount of subsidiary silver coin 
authorized by law to be issued in redemption of the fractional cur- 
rency it shall be lawful to manufacture at the several mints, and 
issue through the Treasury and its several offices, such coin, to an 
amount, that, including the amount of subsidiary silver coin and 
of fractional currency outstanding, shall, in the aggregate, not 
exceed, at any time, fifty million dollars. 

Sec. 4. That the silver bullion required for the purposes of this 
resolution shall be purchased, from time to time, at market-rate, by 
the Secretary of the Treasury, with any money in the Treasury not 
otherwise appropriated ; but no purchase of bullion shall be made 
under this resolution when the market-rate for the same shall be 
such as will not admit of the coinage and issue, as herein pro- 
vided, without loss to the Treasury; and any gain or seigniorage 
arising from this coinage shall be accounted for and paid into the 
Treasury, as provided under existing laws relative to the subsidiary 
coinage : Provided, That the amount of money at any one time 
invested in such silver bullion, exclusive of such resulting coin, 
shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars. 

Approved, July 22, 1876. 



308 ELECTORAL COUNT ACT [Jan. 29 

No. 1 01. Electoral Count Act 

January 29, 1877 

The result of the presidential election of 1876 turned on the counting of 
the electoral votes of South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon, from each 
of which States there were double returns. December 7, 1876, George W. 
McCrary of Iowa offered in the House a resolution for the appointment of a 
committee of five, to act with a similar committee of the Senate, with instruc- 
tions to report a bill for the counting of the electoral vote. The Committee 
on the Judiciary, to whom the resolution was referred, reported on the 14th a 
substitute increasing the number of members to seven, which resolution was 
agreed to. A similar committee of seven was appointed by the Senate 
on the 1 8th. A committee was also "appointed in the Senate to investi- 
gate the recent election, and in the House to inquire into the powers of 
the House in regard to counting the electoral vote. January 18 the joint com- 
mittee reported a bill to regulate the electoral count. The bill passed the 
Senate without amendment on the 24th by a vote of 47 to 17, and the House 
on the 26th by a vote of 191 to 86, 14 not voting. The approval of President 
Grant was communicated in a special message. The count began February i, 
and the result was announced in the early morning of March 2. The result 
of the count showed 185 votes for Hayes and Wheeler, the Republican candi- 
dates, and 184 votes for Tilden and Hendricks, the Democratic candidates. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at La7-ge, XIX, 227-229. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 44th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Reco7'd. The report of the commission is in the Record, ibid.. Vol. 5, 
Part IV ; it was also published separately. A large amount of documentary 
evidence was introduced in the debates. The other documentary literature is 
extensive. Important general references are: Stanwood, History of the Presi- 
dency, chap. 25 ; Johnston in Lalor's Cyclopedia, II, 50-53 ; Blaine, Twenty 
Years of Congress, II, chap. 25 ; Cox, Three Decades, chaps. 36 and 37 ; 
Sherman, Recollections, I, chap. 28. 

An act to provide for and regulate the counting of votes for President and 
Vice-President, and the decision of questions arising thereon, for the term 
commencing March fourth, anno Domini eighteen hundred and seventy- 
seven. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives shall meet in the hall of the House of Representatives, at the 
hour of one o'clock post meridian, on the first Thursday in Feb- 
ruary, anno Domini eighteen hundred and seventy-seven ; and the 



1877] ELECTORAL COUNT ACT 309 

President of the Senate shall be their presiding officer. Two 
tellers shall be previously appointed on the part of the Senate, and 
two on the part of the House of Representatives, to whom shall be 
handed, as they are opened by the President of the Senate, all the 
certificates, and papers purporting to be certificates, of the elec- 
toral votes, which certificates and papers shall be opened, pre- 
sented, and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the States, 
beginning with the letter A ; and said tellers having then read the 
same in the presence and hearing of the two houses, shall make a 
list of the votes as they shall appear from the said certificates; 
and the votes having been ascertained and counted as in this act 
provided, the result of the same shall be delivered to the Presi- 
dent of the Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of the 
vote, and the names of the persons, if any, elected, which announce- 
ment shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected 
President and Vice-President of the United States, and, together 
with a list of the votes, be entered on the journals of the two houses. 
Upon such reading of any such certificate or paper when there 
shall be only one return from a State, the President of the Senate 
shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in 
writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and without argu- 
ment, the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one 
Senator and one member of the House of Representatives before the 
same shall be received. When all objections so made to any vote 
or paper from a State shall have been received and read, the Sen- 
ate shall thereupon withdraw, and such objections shall be sub- 
mitted to the Senate for its decision ; and the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives shall, in like manner, submit such objec- 
tions to the House of Representatives for its decision ; and no 
electoral vote or votes from any State from which but one return 
has been received shall be rejected except by the affirmative vote 
of the two Houses. When the two Houses have voted, they shall 
immediately again meet, and the presiding officer shall then an- 
nounce the decision of the question submitted. 

Sec. 2. That if more than one return, or paper purporting to 
be a return from a State, shall have been received by the Presi- 



310 ELECTORAL COUNT ACT [Jan. 29 

dent of the Senate, purporting to be the certificates of electoral 
votes given at the last preceding election for President and Vice- 
President in such State, (unless they shall be duplicates of the 
same return,) all such returns and papers shall be opened by him 
in the presence of the two Houses when met as aforesaid, and read 
by the tellers, and all such returns and papers shall thereupon be 
submitted to the judgment and decision as to which is the true 
and lawful electoral vote of such State, of a commission consti- 
tuted as follows, namely : During the session of each House on 
the Tuesday next preceding the first Thursday in February, eigh- 
teen hundred and seventy-seven, each House shall, by viva voce 
vote, appoint five of its members, who with the five associate jus- 
tices of the Supreme Court of the United States, to be ascertained 
as hereinafter provided, shall constitute a commission for the deci- 
sion of all questions upon or in respect of such double returns 
named in this section. On the Tuesday next preceding the first 
Thursday in February, anno Domini eighteen hundred and seventy- 
seven, or as soon thereafter as may be, the associate justices of 
the Supreme Court of the United States now assigned to the first, 
third, eighth, and ninth circuits shall select, in such manner as a 
majority of them shall deem fit, another of the associate justices 
of said court, which five persons shall be members of said com- 
mission ; and the person longest in commission of said five jus- 
tices shall be the president of said commission. The members of 
said commission shall respectively take and subscribe the follow- 
ing oath : " I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm, as 

the case may be) that I will impartially examine and consider all 
questions submitted to the commission of which I am a member, 
and a true judgment give thereon, agreeably to the Constitution 
and the laws : so help me God ; " which oath shall be filed with 
the Secretary of the Senate. When the commission shall have 
been thus organized, it shall not be in the power of either house 
to dissolve the same, or to withdraw any of its members ; but if 
any such Senator or member shall die or become physically unable 
to perform the duties required by this act, the fact of such death 
or physical inability shall be by said commission, before it shall 



1877] ELECTORAL COUNT ACT 31I 

proceed further, communicated to the Senate or House of Repre- 
sentatives, as the case may be, which body shall immediately and 
without debate proceed by viva voce vote to fill the place so 
vacated, and the person so appointed shall take and subscribe the 
oath hereinbefore prescribed, and become a member of said com- 
mission ; and, in hke manner, if any of said justices of the Supreme 
Court shall die or become physically incapable of performing the 
duties required by this act, the other of said justices, members of 
the said commission, shall immediately appoint another justice of 
said court a member of said commission, and, in such appoint- 
ments, regard shall be had to the impartiality and freedom from 
bias sought by the original appointments to said commission, who 
shall thereupon immediately take and subscribe the oath herein- 
before prescribed, and become a member of said commission to 
fill the vacancy so occasioned. All the certificates and papers 
purporting to be certificates of the electoral votes of each State 
shall be opened, in the alphabetical order of the States, as pro- 
vided in section one of this act ; and when there shall be more 
than one such certificate or paper, as the certificates and papers 
from such State shall so be opened, (excepting duplicates of the 
same return,) they shall be read by the tellers, and thereupon the 
President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. Every 
objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and con- 
cisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be 
signed by at least one Senator and one member of the House 
of Representatives before the same shall be received. When all 
such objections so made to any certificate, vote, or paper from a 
State shall have been received and read, all such certificates, votes, 
and papers so objected to, and all papers accompanying the same, 
together with such objections, shall be forthwith submitted to said 
commission, which shall proceed to consider the same, with the 
same powers, if any, now possessed for that purpose by the two 
Houses acting separately or together, and, by a majority of votes, 
decide whether any and what votes from such State are the votes 
provided for by the Constitution of the United States, and how 
many and what persons were duly appointed electors in such State, 



312 ELECTOR.\L COUNT ACT [Jan. 29 

and may therein take into view such petitions, depositions, and 
other papers, if any, as shall, by the Constitution and now existing 
law, be competent and pertinent in such consideration ; which 
decision shall be made in writing, stating briefly the ground 
thereof, and signed by the members of said commission agreeing 
therein ; whereupon the two houses shall again meet, and such 
decision shall be read and entered in the journal of each House, 
and the counting of the votes shall proceed in conformity there- 
with, unless, upon objection made thereto in writing by at least 
five Senators and five members of the House of Representatives, 
the two Houses shall separately concur in ordering otherwise, in 
which case such concurrent order shall govern. No votes or 
papers from any other State shall be acted upon until the objec- 
tions previously made to the votes or papers from any State shall 
have been finally disposed of. 

Sec. 3. That while the two Houses shall be in meeting, as pro- 
vided in this act, no debate shall be allowed and no question shall 
be put by the presiding officer, except to either House on a 
motion to withdraw ; and he shall have power to preserve order. 

Sec. 4. That when the two Houses separate to decide upon 
an objection that may have been made to the counting of any 
electoral vote or votes from any State, or upon objection to a 
report of said commission, or other question arising under this 
act, each Senator and Representative may speak to such objection 
or question ten minutes, and not oftener than once ; but after 
such debate shall have lasted two hours, it shall be the duty of 
each House to put the main question without further debate. 

Sec. 5. That at such joint meeting of the two Houses, seats 
shall be provided as follows : For the President of the Senate, the 
Speaker's chair ; for the Speaker, immediately upon his left ; the 
Senators in the body of the hall upon the right of the presiding 
officer ; for the Representatives, in the body of the hall not pro- 
vided for the Senators ; for the tellers, Secretary of the Senate, and 
Clerk of the House of Representatives, at the Clerk's desk ; for 
the other officers of the two Houses, in front of the Clerk's desk 
and upon each side of the Speaker's platform. Such joint meet- 



1S77] COINAGE OF STANDARD SILVER DOLLAR 313 

ing shall not be dissolved until the count of electoral votes shall 
be completed and the result declared ; and no recess shall be 
taken unless a question shall have arisen in regard to counting 
any such votes, or otherwise under this act, in which case it shall 
be competent for either House, acting separately, in the manner 
hereinbefore provided, to direct a recess of such House not be- 
yond the next day, Sunday excepted, at the hour of ten o'clock 
in the forenoon. And while any question is being considered by 
said commission, either House may proceed with its legislative or 
other business. 

Sec. 6. That nothing in this act shall be held to impair or 
affect any right now existing under the Constitution and laws to 
question, by proceeding in the judical courts of the United States, 
the right or title of the person who shall be declared elected, or 
who shall claim to be President or Vice-President of the United 
States, if any such right exists. 

Sec. 7. That said commission shall make its own rules, keep a 
record of its proceedings, and shall have power to employ such 
persons as may be necessary for the transaction of its business and 
the execution of its powers. 

Approved, January 29, 1877. 



No. 102. Coinage of the Standard Silver 
Dollar 

February 28, 1878 

The coinage act of February 12, 1875 [No. 93], omitted the silver dol- 
lar from the list of pieces thereafter to be coined, but retained the trade dol- 
lar. A bill to provide for the free and unlimited coinage of silver dollars was 
introduced in the House, December 13, 1876, by Richard P. Bland of Mis- 
souri, as a substitute for a bill "to utilize the products of gold and silver 
mines," introduced June 3. The bill passed the House the same day by a 
vote of 167 to 53, 69 not voting. In the Senate the bill was referred to the 
Committee on Unance, which reported it January 16, 1877, without recom- 
mendation, pending the report of the silver commission. November 5, by a 



314 COINAGE OF STANDARD SILVER DOLLAR [Feb. 28 

vote of 164 to 34, 92 not voting, the rules were suspended to allow Bland to 
introduce and the House to pass a free coinage bill.i The bill was taken up 
in the Senate January 28 and debated until February 15. The Senate added 
sections 2 and 3 of the act, the provisos of section i, and, on motion of Wil- 
liam B. Allison of Iowa, the limitation on the amount of coinage, the vote on 
the latter amendment being 49 to 22. The final vote in the Senate was 48 to 
21, 7 not voting. February 21 the House concurred in the Senate amend- 
ments. On the 28th the bill was vetoed by President Hayes, but was passed 
over the veto, in the House by a vote of 196 to 73, 23 not voting ; in the 
Senate by a vote of 46 to 19, 11 not voting. The coinage provision of the act 
was repealed by section 5 of the act of July 14, 1890 [No. 121, post]. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XX, 25, 26. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Jourjials, 45th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Globe. See House Misc. Doc. zy ; Senate Exec. Doc. 3, 50th Cong., 
2d Sess.; Dewey, Financial History, chap. 17, and references there given ; 
Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, II, chap. 26 ; Sherman, Fecollectiotis, II, 
chaps. 31 and 32, and annual report as Secretary of the Treasury, Decem- 
ber, 1877. 

An act to authorize the coinage of the standard silver dollar, and to restore its 
legal-tender character. 

Be it enacted . . ., That there shall be coined, at the several 
mints of the United States, silver dollars of the weight of four 
hundred and twelve and a half grains Troy of standard silver, as 
provided in the act of January eighteenth, eighteen hundred thirty- 
seven, on which shall be the devices and superscriptions provided 
by said act ; which coins together with all silver dollars heretofore 
coined by the United States, of like weight and fineness, shall be 
a legal tender, at their nominal value, for all debts and dues 
public and private, except where otherwise expressly stipulated in 
the contract. And the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized 
and directed to purchase, from time to time, silver bullion, at the 
market price thereof, not less than two million dollars worth per 
month, nor more than four million dollars worth per month, and 
cause the same to be coined monthly, as fast as so purchased, 

1 "The previous question being ordered and the rules suspended, a single vole 
would introduce the bill without a reference to a committee, and would pass it 
without any power of amendment, without the usual reading at three separate 
times." (Sherman, Recollections, II, 603.) 



1878] COINAGE OF STANDARD SILVER DOLLAR 315 

into such dollars ; and a sum sufficient to carry out the foregoing 
provision of this act is hereby appropriated out of any money 
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. And any gain or 
seigniorage arising from this coinage shall be accounted for and 
paid into the Treasury, as provided under existing laws relative 
to the subsidiary coinage : Provided, That the amount of money 
at any one time invested in such silver bullion, exclusive of such 
resulting coin, shall not exceed five million dollars : And provided 
further, That nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize 
the payment in silver of certificates of deposit issued under the 
provisions of section two hundred and fifty-four of the Revised 
Statutes. 

Sec. 2. That immediately after the passage of this act, the Presi- 
dent shall invite the governments of the countries composing the 
Latin Union, so-called, and of such other European nations as he 
may deem advisable, to join the United States in a conference to 
adopt a common ratio between gold and silver, for the purpose of 
establishing, internationally, the use of bi-metallic money, and 
securing fixity of relative value between those metals ; such con- 
ference to be held at such place, in Europe or in the United States, 
at such time within six months, as may be mutually agreed upon 
by the executives of the governments joining in the same, when- 
ever the governments so invited, or any three of them, shall have 
signified their willingness to unite in the same. 

The President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, appoint three commissioners, who shall attend such con- 
ference on behalf of the United States, and shall report the doings 
thereof to the President, who shall transmit the same to Congress. 
******* 

Sec. 3. That any holder of the coin authorized by this act may 
deposit the same with the Treasurer or any assistant treasurer of 
the United States, in sums not less than ten dollars, and receive 
therefor certificates of not less than ten dollars each, corresponding 
with the denominations of the United States notes. The coin de- 
posited for or representing the certificates shall be retained in the 
Treasury for the payment of the same on demand. Said certifi- 



3l6 LEGAL TENDER NOTES [May 31 

cates shall be receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues, 
and, when so received, may be reissued. 

Sec. 4. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provi- 
sions of this act are hereby repealed. 



No. 103. Act forbidding the Further Retire- 
ment of Legal Tender Notes 

May 31, 1878 

April 29, 1878, in the House, Greenbury L. Fort of Illinois moved a sus- 
pension of the rules to allow the introduction and passage of a bill to forbid 
the further retirement of United States legal tender notes. By a vote of 117 
to 35, 79 not voting, the motion prevailed. The second reading was voted in 
the Senate May 7, 34 to 23. On the 21st the Committee on Finance reported 
the bill without amendment. The bill was taken up on the 27th by a vote of 
28 to 26, and passed the next day, the final vote being 41 to 18. 

Referenxes. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XX, 87. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Jourtials, 45th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. On the constitutionality of the act set Jiiilliard v. Greenman, 
no U.S. Reports, 421, and Thayer, Cases on Comtitutional Law, II, 2267- 
2273. 

An act to forbid the further retirement of United States legal-tender notes. 

Be it efiacted . . ., That from and after the passage of this act 
it shall not be lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury or other 
officer under him to cancel or retire any more of the United 
States legal-tender notes. And when any of said notes may be 
redeemed or be received into the Treasury under any law from 
any source whatever and shall belong to the United States, they 
shall not be retired cancelled or destroyed but they shall be 
re-issued and paid out again and kept in circulation : Provided, 
That nothing herein shall prohibit the cancellation and destruc- 
tion of mutilated notes and the issue of other notes of like denomi- 
nation in their stead, as now provided by law. 

All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. 

Approved, May 31, 1878. 



1878] USE OF THE ARMY AT THE POLLS 317 

No. 104. Use of the Army at the Polls 

May 4, i88o 

The army appropriation act of June 18, 1878, forbade the use of the army 
z.%3i posse comitatus save as authorized by the Constitution or an act of Con- 
gress. The army appropriation bill of the next year, containing a provision 
prohibiting the use of the army at the polls, was vetoed by President Hayes. 
The army bill of 1880 was reported in the House March 30, and April 13 the 
amendment contained in section 2 of the act was agreed to^ the vote being 
117 to 96, 79 not voting. April 22, in the Senate, amendments offered by 
Edmunds, Blaine, and others to nuUify this section were rejected and the bill 
passed, the final vote being 28 to 18. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXI, 113, 114. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 46th Cong., 2d Sess., and 
the Cong. Record. Hayes's veto message of April 29, 1879, reviews the 
previous legislation. 

An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and for other pur- 
poses. 

******* 
Sec. 2. That no money appropriated in this act is appropriated 
or shall be paid for the subsistence, equipment, transportation, or 
compensation of any portion of the Army of the United States to 
be used as a poHce force to keep the peace at the polls at any 
election held within any State : Provided, That nothing in this 
provision shall be construed to prevent the use of troops to pro- 
tect against domestic violence in each of the States on application 
of the legislature thereof or of the executive when the legislature 
cannot be convened. 
Approved, May 4, 1880. 



3l8 PURCHASE OF BONDS [March 3 

No. 105. Purchase of Bonds 

March 3, 1881 

Section 2 of the sundry civil appropriation act of March 3, 1881, author- 
izing the application of the surplus to the purchase of bonds, was offered as 
an amendment to the bill, March 2, by Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware, from 
the Senate Committee on Finance, and was agreed to without debate. In his 
annual message of December 6, 1887, President Cleveland pointed out that 
" the only pretense of any existing executive power " to prevent the accumu- 
lation of surplus revenue " consists in the supposition that the Secretary of 
the Treasury may enter the market and purchase the bonds of the Govern- 
ment not yet due, at a rate of premium to be agreed upon " ; and he expressed 
a doubt as to whether the provision of the act of 1881 was properly to be 
regarded as still in effect. A bill to give the Secretary of the Treasury the 
necessary authority was introduced in the House January 16, 1888, and 
passed that body February 29. The Senate passed the bill with amendments 
April 5, and the bill went to a conference committee, where it remained. By 
a resolution of April 16, agreed to under suspension of the rules, the House 
declared that the provision of the act of 1881 " was intended to be a per- 
manent provision of law ; and the same is hereby declared to have been since 
its enactment and to be now, in the opinion of the House, in full force and 
effect." The vote on the motion to suspend the rules was 138 to 64, 123 not 
voting. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXI, 457. For the later 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 50th Cong., 1st Sess., and the 
Cong. Record; see also Senate Report 453. 

An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, and 
for other purposes. 

******* 
Sec. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury may at any time 
apply the surplus money in the Treasury not otherwise appropri- 
ated, or so much thereof as he may consider proper, to the pur- 
chase or redemption of United States bonds : Provided, That the 
bonds so purchased or redeemed shall constitute no part of the 
sinking fund but shall be cancelled. 

******* 

Approved, March 3, 1881. 



i88i] ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT 319 

No. 106. Anti-Polygamy Act 

March 22, 1882 

In his annual message of December 6, 1881, President Arthur called atten- 
tion to the spread of Mormonism in the Territories, and repeated the recom- 
mendations of previous messages for more stringent legislation, A bill " in 
reference to bigamy, and for other purposes," was introduced in the Senate, 
December 12, 18S1, by Edmunds of Vermont, and referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary. January 24 the committee reported the bill with numerous 
amendments. The bill passed the Senate February 16 and the House 
March 13, the vote in the House being 199 to 42, 51 not voting. 

References, — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXII, 30-32. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 47th Cong., 1st Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. On the constitutional bearings of the act see Murphy v. Ratn- 
sey, 114 U.S. Reports, 15 ; Cannon v. United States, 1 16 ibid,, 55 ; Davis v. 
Beason, 133 ibid., 333. 

An act to amend section fifty-three hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Stat- 
utes of the United States, in reference to bigamy, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That section fifty-three hundred and fifty- 
two of the Revised Statutes of the United States ^ be, and the same 
is hereby, amended so as to read as follows, namely : 

" Every person who has a husband or wife living who, in a Terri- 
tory or other place over which the United States have exclusive 
jurisdiction, hereafter marries another, whether married or single, 
and any man who hereafter simultaneously, or on the same day, 
marries more than one woman, in a Territory or other place over 
which the United States have exclusive jurisdiction, is guilty of 
polygamy, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than 
five hundred dollars and by imprisonment for a term of not more 
than five years ; but this section shall not extend to any person by 
reason of any former marriage whose husband or wife by such 
marriage shall have been absent for five successive years, and is 
not known to such person to be living, and is believed by such 
person to be dead, nor to any person by reason of any former 
marriage which shall have been dissolved by a valid decree of a 

1 Section i of the act of July i, 1862 [No. 21, ante]. 



320 AXri-POLYGAMY ACT [March 22 

competent court, nor to any person by reason of any former mar- 
riage which shall have been pronounced void by a valid decree of a 
competent court, on the ground of nuUit)' of the marriage contract." 

Sec. 2. That the foregoing provisions shall not affect the 
prosecution or punishment of any offense already committed 
against the section amended by the first section of this act. 

Sec. 3. That if any male person, in a Territory or other place 
over which the United States have exclusive jurisdiction, hereafter 
cohabits with more than one woman, he shall be deemed guilty 
of a misdemeanor, and on convection thereof shall be punished 
by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, or by imprison- 
ment for not more than six months, or by both said punishments, 
in the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 4. That counts for any or all of the offenses named in sec- 
tions one and three of this act may be joined in the same informa- 
tion or indictment. 

Sec. 5. That in any prosecution for bigamy, polygamy, or un- 
lawful cohabitation, under any statute of the United States, it 
shall be sufficient cause of challenge to any person drawn or 
summoned as a jurj'man or talesman, first, that he is or has been 
living in the practice of bigamy, polygamy, or unlawful cohabita- 
tion with more than one woman, or that he is or has been guilty 
of an offense punishable by either of the foregoing sections, or by 
section fiftj'-three hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes 
of the United States, or the act of July first, eighteen hundred 
and sixty- two, entitled " An act to punish and prevent the prac- 
tice of polygamy in the Territories of the United States and other 
places, and disapproving and annulling certain acts of the legis- 
lative assembly of the Territory of Utah," or, second, that he 
believes it right for a man to have more than one living and undi- 
vorced wife at the same time, or to live in the practice of cohabit- 
ing with more than one woman ; and any person appearing or 
offered as a juror or talesman, and challenged on either of the 
foregoing grounds, may be questioned on his oath as to the exist- 
ence of any such cause of challenge, and other evidence may be 
introduced bearing upon the question raised by such challenge ; 



i882] ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT 32 1 

and this question shall be tried by the court. But as to the first 
ground of challenge before mentioned, the person challenged 
shall not be bound to answer if he shall say upon his oath that 
he declines on the ground that his answer may tend to criminate 
himself; and if he shall answer as to said first ground, his answer 
shall not be given in evidence in any criminal prosecution against 
him for any offense named in sections one or three of this act ; 
but if he declines to answer on any ground, he shall be rejected 
as incompetent. 

Sec. 6. That the President is hereby authorized to grant am- 
nesty to such classes of offenders guilty of bigamy, polygamy, or 
unlawful cohabitation, before the passage of this act, on such con- 
ditions and under such Hmitations as he shall think proper ; but 
no such amnesty shall have effect unless the conditions thereof 
shall be complied with. 

Sec. 7. That the issue of bigamous or polygamous marriages, 
known as Mormon marriages, in cases in which such marriages 
have been solemnized according to the ceremonies of the Mor- 
mon sect, in any Territory of the United States, and such issue 
shall have been born before the first day of January, anno Domini 
eighteen hundred and eighty-three, are hereby legitimated. 

Sec. 8. That no polygamist, bigamist, or any person cohabit- 
ing with more than one woman, and no woman cohabiting with 
any of the persons described as aforesaid in this section, in any 
Territory or other place over which the United States have exclu- 
sive jurisdiction, shall be entitled to vote at any election held in 
any such Territory or other place, or be eligible for election or 
appointment to or be entitled to hold any office or place of public 
trust, honor, or emolument in, under, or for any such Territory or 
place, or under the United States. 

Sec. 9. That all the registration and election offices of every 
description in the Territory of Utah are hereby declared vacant, 
and each and every duty relating to the registration of voters, the 
conduct of elections, the receiving or rejection of votes, and the 
canvassing and returning of the same, and the issuing of certifi- 
cates or other evidence of election in said Territory, shall, until 

Y 



322 ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT [March 22 

Other provision be made by the legislative assembly of said Terri- 
tory as is hereinafter by this section provided, be performed under 
the existing laws of the United States and of said Territory by 
proper persons, who shall be appointed to execute such offices 
and perform such duties by a board of five persons, to be ap- 
pointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, not more than three of whom shall be members of one 
political party ; and a majority of whom shall be a quorum. The 
members of said board so appointed by the President shall each 
receive a salary at the rate of three thousand dollars per annum, 
and shall continue in office until the legislative assembly of said 
Territory shall make provision for filling said offices as herein 
authorized. The Secretary of the Territory shall be the secre- 
tary of said board, and keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
attest the action of said board under this section. The canvass 
and return of all the votes at elections in said Territory for mem- 
bers of the legislative assembly thereof shall also be returned to 
said board, which shall canvass all such returns and issue certifi- 
cates of election to those persons who, being eligible for such 
election, shall appear to have been lawfully elected, which cer- 
tificates shall be the only evidence of the right of such persons 
to sit in such assembly : Provided, That said board of five per- 
sons shall not exclude any person otherwise eligible to vote from 
the polls on account of any opinion such person may entertain on 
the subject of bigamy or polygamy nor shall they refuse to count 
any such vote on account of the opinion of the person casting it 
on the subject of bigamy or polygamy ; but each house of such 
assembly, after its organization, shall have power to decide upon 
the elections and qualifications of its members. And at, or after 
the first meeting of said legislative assembly whose members shall 
have been elected and returned according to the provisions of this 
act, said legislative assembly may make such laws, conformable to 
the organic act of said Territory and not inconsistent with other 
laws of the United States, as it shall deem proper concerning the 
filling of the offices in said Territory declared vacant by this act. 
Approved, March 22, 1882. 



iSS2] ACT RESTRICTING CHINESE IMMIGRATION 323 

No. 107. Act restricting Chinese Immigration 

May 6, 1882 

A BILL " to restrict the immigration of Chinese to the United States " was 
vetoed by President Hayes, March i, 1879, principally on the ground of the 
interference of the proposed act with the Burlingame treaty of 1869. April 6, 
1882, a bill "to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese" was 
introduced in the House by Campbell P. Berry of Cahfornia, and referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor, together with a bill " to regulate, 
limit, and suspend the immigration of Chinese laborers," introduced by Albert 
S. Willis of Kentucky. A substitute for the Berry bill was reported April 12, 
and on the 17th, by a vote of 202 to 37, 52 not voting, the rules were sus- 
pended and the bill passed. The Senate in committee added numerous 
amendments, among them amendments striking out sections 14 and 15, 
forbidding naturalization and defining " Chinese laborers " : these last two 
amendments were non-concurred in by the Senate by votes of 26 to 32 and 20 
to 25, respectively. On the 28th the bill passed the Senate. The amendments 
of the Senate were accepted by the House. The act was amended in numer- 
ous details by an act of July 5, 1884, and made to apply "to all subjects of 
China and Chinese, whether subjects of China or any other foreign power." 
A supplementary act of October i, 18S8, forbade the return of Chinese laborers 
who had left the United States. The acts of May 6, 1882, and July 5, 1884, 
were repealed by section 15 of the act of September 13, 1888 [No. 119]. 

References. — Text\n U.S. Statutes at Large,XXU, 58-61. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Setiaie Journals, 47th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. The text of the House bill is in the Record, April 17 ; the Sen- 
ate amendments are in ibid., April 25. The report accompanying the 
House bill is Hotise Report loiy. On the general subject see, besides Hayes's 
veto message, Senate Report 68g, 44th Cong., 2d Sess. ; Hotise Report 240 and 
Senate Misc. Doc. 36, 45th Cong., 2d Sess.; House Report 62, ibid., 3d Sess.; 
House Exec. Doc. yo and House Report ^57 2, 46th Cong., 2d Sess. 

An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese. 

Whereas, in the opinion of the Government of the United 
States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers 
the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof: 
Therefore, 

Be it enacted . . ., That from and after the expiration of ninety 
days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of 



324 ACT RESTRICTING CHINESE IMMIGRATION [May 6 

ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chi- 
nese laborers to the United States be, and the same is hereby, 
suspended ; and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for 
any Chinese laborer to come, or, having so come after the expira- 
tion of said ninety days, to remain within the United States. 

Sec. 2. That the master of any vessel who shall knowingly 
bring within the United States on such vessel, and land or permit 
to be landed, any Chinese laborer, from any foreign port or place, 
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction 
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred 
dollars for each and every such Chinese laborer so brought, and 
may be also imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year. 

Sec. 3. That the two foregoing sections shall not apply to 
Chinese laborers who were in the United States on the seven- 
teenth day of November, eighteen hundred and eighty, or who 
shall have come into the same before the expiration of ninety days 
next after the passage of this act, and who shall produce to such 
master before going on board such vessel, and shall produce to 
the collector of the port in the United States at which such vessel 
shall arrive, the evidence hereinafter in this act required of his 
being one of the laborers in this section mentioned ; nor shall the 
two foregoing sections apply to the case of any master whose 
vessel, being bound to a port not within the United States, shall 
come within the jurisdiction of the United States by reason of 
being in distress or in stress of weather, or touching at any port 
of the United States on its voyage to any foreign port or place : 
Provided, That all Chinese laborers brought on such vessel shall 
depart with the vessel on leaving port. 

Sec. 4. That for the purpose of properly identifying Chinese 
laborers who were in the United States on the seventeenth day 
of November, eighteen hundred and eighty, or who shall have 
come into the same before the expiration of ninety days next 
after the passage of this act, and in order to furnish them with the 
proper evidence of their right to go from and come to the United 
States of their free will and accord, as provided by the treaty be- 
tween the United States and China dated November seventeenth. 



i882] ACT RESTRICTING CHINESE IMMIGRATION 325 

eighteen hundred and eighty, the collector of customs of the 
district from which any such Chinese laborer shall depart from 
the United States shall, in person or by deputy, go on board each 
vessel having on board any such Chinese laborer and cleared or 
about to sail from his district for a foreign port, and on such vessel 
make a list of all such Chinese laborers, which shall be entered in 
registry- books to be kept for that purpose, in which shall be stated 
the name, age, occupation, last place of residence, physical marks 
or peculiarities, and all facts necessary for the identification of each 
of such Chinese laborers, which books shall be safely kept in 
the custom-house ; and every such Chinese laborer so departing 
from the United States shall be entitled to, and shall receive, 
free of any charge or cost upon application therefor, from the col- 
lector or his deputy, at the time such Hst is taken, a certificate, 
signed by the collector or his deputy and attested by his seal of 
office, in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, 
which certificate shall contain a statement of the name, age, occu- 
pation, last place of residence, personal description, and facts of 
identification of the Chinese laborer to whom the certificate is 
issued, corresponding with the said list and registry in all particu- 
lars. In case any Chinese laborer after having received such cer- 
tificate shall leave such vessel before her departure he shall deliver 
his certificate to the master of the vessel, and if such Chinese 
laborer shall fail to return to such vessel before her departure from 
port the certificate shall be delivered by the master to the collec- 
tor of customs for cancellation. The certificate herein provided 
for shall entitle the Chinese laborer to whom the same is issued to 
return to and re-enter the United States upon producing and de- 
livering the same to the collector of customs of the district at 
which such Chinese laborer shall seek to re-enter ; and upon deliv- 
ery of such certificate by such Chinese laborer to the collector of 
customs at the time of re-entry in the United States, said collector 
shall cause the same to be filed in the custom-house and duly 
cancelled.^ 

1 By the act of October i, 1888, the issue of certificates of identity was discon- 
tinued, and certificates already issued were declared null and void. 



326 ACT RESTRICTING CHINESE IMMIGRATION [May 6 

Sec. 5. [Certificate to issue on departure from United States, 
by land, free of cost.] 

Sec, 6. That in order to the faithful execution of articles one 
and two of the treaty in this act before mentioned, every Chinese 
person other than a laborer who may be entitled by said treaty 
and this act to come within the United States, and who shall be 
about to come to the United States, shall be identified as so enti- 
tled by the Chinese Government in each case, such identity to be 
evidenced by a certificate issued under the authority of said gov- 
ernment, which certificate shall be in the English language or (if 
not in the English language) accompanied by a translation into 
English, stating such right to come, and which certificate shall 
state the name, title, or official rank, if any, the age, height, and 
all physical peculiarities, former and present occupation or pro- 
fession, and place of residence in China of the person to whom 
the certificate is issued and that such person is entitled comform- 
ably to the treaty in this act mentioned to come within the United 
States. Such certificate shall be prima-facie evidence of the fact 
set forth therein, and shall be produced to the collector of cus- 
toms, or his deputy, of the port in the district in the United 
States at which the person named therein shall arrive. 
Sec. 7. [Fraudulent certificates.] 

Sec. 8. That the master of any vessel arriving in the United 
States from any foreign port or place shall, at the same time he 
delivers a manifest of the cargo, and if there be no cargo, then 
at the time of making a report of the entry of the vessel pursuant 
to law, in addition to the other matter required to be reported, 
and before landing, or permitting to land, any Chinese passengers, 
deliver and report to the collector of customs of the district in 
which such vessels shall have arrived a separate list of all Chinese 
passengers taken on board his vessel at any foreign port or place, 
and all such passengers on board the vessel at that time. Such 
list shall show the names of such passengers (and if accredited 
officers of the Chinese Government traveling on the business of 
that government, or their servants, with a note of such facts), and 
the names and other particulars, as shown by their respective cer- 



i882] ACT RESTRICTING CHINESE IMMIGRATION 327 

tificates ; and such list shall be sworn to by the master in the 
manner required by law in relation to the manifest of the cargo. 
Any willful refusal or neglect of any such master to comply with 
the provisions of this section shall incur the same penalties and 
forfeiture as are provided for a refusal or neglect to report and 
deliver a manifest of the cargo. 

Sec. 9. That before any Chinese passengers are landed from 
any such vessel, the collector, or his deputy, shall proceed to ex- 
amine such passengers, comparing the certificates with the list and 
with the passengers ; and no passenger shall be allowed to land in 
the United States from such vessel in violation of law. 

Sec. 10. [Forfeiture of vessels for violation of provisions of act.] 

Sec. II. That any person who shall knowingly bring into or 
cause to be brought into the United States by land, or who shall 
knowingly aid or abet the same, or aid or abet the landing in the 
United States from any vessel of any Chinese person not lawfully 
entitled to enter the United States,shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 
demeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in a sum not 
exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisoned for a term not 
exceeding one year. 

Sec. 12. That no Chinese person shall be permitted to enter 
the United States by land without producing to the proper officer 
of customs the certificate in this act required of Chinese persons 
seeking to land from a vessel. And any Chinese person found 
unlawfully within the United States shall be caused to be removed 
therefrom to the country from whence he came, by direction of 
the President of the United States, and at the cost of the United 
States, after being brought before some justice, judge, or commis- 
sioner of a court of the United States and found to be one not 
lawfully entitled to be or remain in the United States. 

Sec. 13. That this act shall not apply to diplomatic and other 
officers of the Chinese Government traveling upon the business of 
that government, whose credentials shall be taken as equivalent to 
the certificate in this act mentioned, and shall exempt them and 
their body and household servants from the provisions of this act 
as to other Chinese persons. 



328 NATIONAL BANK CIRCULATION [July 12 

Sec. 14. That hereafter no State court or court of the United 
States shall admit Chinese to citizenship ; and all laws in conflict 
with this act are hereby repealed. 

Sec. 15. That the words, " Chinese laborers," wherever used in 
this act, shall be construed to mean both skilled and unskilled 
laborers and Chinese employed in mining. 

Approved, May 6, 1SS2. 



No. 108. National Bank Circulation, Bonds, 
and Gold Certificates 

July 12, 1882 

A BILL "to enable national banking associations to extend their corporate 
existence " was introduced in the House, January 9, 1SS2, by W. W. Crapo of 
Massachusetts, and referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency. A 
substitute was reported by the committee February 7. The bill was not taken 
up until May 13. The House added various amendments, among them the 
provision for the issue of three per cent bonds, being the substance of a bill 
which passed the Senate December 5, and the proviso limiting the circula- 
tion of a bank to ninety per cent of the par value of the bonds deposited as 
security, the vote on this last amendment being 109 to 81, loi not voting. 
May 19 the bill passed the House by a vote of 125 to 67, 99 not voting. The 
bill with amendments passed the Senate June 22, the vote being 34 to 13. A 
conference committee settled the fmal form of the bill. The report of the 
committee was agreed to by the House July 10 by a vote of 109 to 79, 102 
not voting, and by the Senate the following day without a division. 

References. — TV-v/in i^.S. Statutes at Large, XXII, 162-166. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 47th Cong., 1st Sess., and 
the Cong. KecorJ. The bill formed the principal subject of debate during the 
period in which it was considered. The text of the House bill, with the 
proposed amendments and substitutes, is in the Record for May 13 ; see also 
Crapo's remarks. An amended text, showing the bill in process, is in ibid., 
May iS. 

An act to enable national-banking associations to extend their corporate 
existence, and for other purposes. 

[Sections 1-7 relate to the extension for not more than twenty 
years of the corporate existence of national banking associations, 



i882] NATIONAL BANK CIRCULATION 329 

the redemption and destruction of certain circulating notes in 
such cases, &c.] 

Sec. 8. That national banks now organized or hereafter organ- 
ized, having a capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
or less, shall not be required to keep on deposit or deposit with 
the Treasurer of the United States United States bonds in excess 
of one-fourth of their capital stock as security for their circulating 
notes ; but such banks shall keep on deposit or deposit with the 
Treasurer of the United States the amount of bonds as herein 
required. And such of those banks having on deposit bonds in 
excess of that amount are authorized to reduce their circulation 
by the deposit of lawful money as provided by law ; Provided, 
That the amount of such circulating notes shall not in any case 
exceed ninety per centum of the par value of the bonds deposited 
as herein provided : Provided further, That the national banks 
which shall hereafter make deposits of lawful money for the retire- 
ment in full of their circulation shall at the time of their deposit 
be assessed for the cost of transporting and redeeming their notes 
then outstanding, a sum equal to the average cost of the redemp- 
tion of national-bank notes during the preceding year, and shall 
thereupon pay such assessment. And all national banks which 
have heretofore made or shall hereafter make deposits of lawful 
money for the reduction of their circulation shall be assessed and 
shall pay an assessment in the manner specified in section three 
of the act approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
four, for the cost of transporting and redeeming their notes re- 
deemed from such deposits subsequently to June thirtieth, eigh- 
teen hundred and eighty-one. 

Sec. 9. That any national banking association now organized, 
or hereafter organized, desiring to withdraw its circulating notes, 
upon a deposit of lawful money with the Treasurer of the United 
States, as provided in section four of the act of June twentieth, 
eighteen hundred and seventy-four, entided "An act fixing the 
amount of United States notes, providing for a redistribution of 
national-bank currency, and for other purposes," or as provided 
in this act, is authorized to deposit lawful money and withdraw 



330 NATIONAL BANK CIRCULATION [July I2 

a proportionate amount of the bonds held as security for its 
circulating notes in the order of such deposits ; and no national 
bank which makes any deposit of lawful money in order to with- 
draw its circulating notes shall be entitled to receive any increase 
of its circulation for the period of six months from the time it 
made such deposit of lawful money for the purpose aforesaid : 
Provided, That not more than three millions of dollars of lawful 
money shall be deposited during any calendar month for this 
purpose : And provided further, That the provisions of this sec- 
tion shall not apply to bonds called for redemption by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, nor to the withdrawal of circulating 
notes in consequence thereof. 

Sec. io. That upon a deposit of bonds as described by sec- 
tions fifty-one hundred and fifty-nine and fifty-one hundred and 
sixty, except as modified by section four of . . . [the act of June 
20, 1874] . . ., and as modified by section eight, of this act, the 
association making the same shall be entitled to receive from the 
Comptroller of the Currency circulating notes of different denomi- 
nations, in blank, registered and countersigned as provided by 
law, equal in amount to ninety per centum of the current market 
value, not exceeding par, of the United States bonds so transferred 
and delivered, and at no time shall the total amount of such notes 
issued to any such association exceed ninety per centum of the 
amount at such time actually paid in of its capital stock ; and the 
provisions of sections fifty-one hundred and seventy-one and 
fifty-one hundred and seventy-six of the Revised Statutes are 
hereby repealed. 

Sec. 1 1 . That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby author- 
ized to receive at the Treasury any bonds of the United States 
bearing three and a half per centum interest, and to issue in 
exchange therefor an equal amount of registered bonds of the 
United States of the denominations of fifty, one hundred, five 
hundred, one thousand, and ten thousand dollars, of such form as 
he may prescribe, bearing interest at the rate of three per centum 
per annum, payable quarterly at the Treasury of the United States. 
Such bonds shall be exempt from all taxation by or under State 



i882j NATIONAL BANK CIRCULATION 33 1 

authority, and be payable at the pleasure of the United States : 
Provided, That the bonds herein authorized shall not be called in 
and paid so long as any bonds of the United States heretofore 
issued bearing a higher rate of interest than three per centum, and 
which shall be redeemable at the pleasure of the United States, 
shall be outstanding and uncalled. The last of the said bonds 
originally issued under this act, and their substitutes, shall be first 
called in, and this order of payment shall be followed until all 
shall have been paid. 

Sec. 12. That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and 
directed to receive deposits of gold coin with the Treasurer or 
assistant treasurers of the United States, in sums not less than 
twenty dollars, and to issue certificates therefor in denominations 
of not less than twenty dollars each, corresponding with the de- 
nominations of United States notes. The coin deposited for or 
representing the certificates of deposits shall be retained in the 
Treasury for the payment of the same on demand. Said certifi- 
cates shall be receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues, 
and when so received may be reissued ; and such certificates, as 
also silver certificates, when held by any national-banking associa- 
tion, shall be counted as part of its lawful reserve ; and no national- 
banking association shall be a member of any clearing-house in 
which such certificates shall not be receivable in the settlement 
of clearing-house balances : Provided, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall suspend the issue of such gold certificates whenever 
the amount of gold coin and gold bullion in the Treasury reserved 
for the redemption of United States notes falls below one hundred 
millions of dollars ; and the provisions of section fifty-two hundred 
and seven of the Revised Statutes shall be applicable to the cer- 
tificates herein authorized and directed to be issued. 

Sec. 13. [Penalty for falsely certifying checks.] 

Sec. 14. That Congress may at any time amend, alter, or re- 
peal this act and the acts of which this is amendatory. 

Approved, July 12, 1882. 



332 CIVIL SERVICE ACT [Jan. i6 

No. 109. Civil Service Act 

January 16, 1883 

In his annual message of December 5, 1870, President Grant urged the 
attention of Congress to " a reform in the civil service of the country." In 
accordance with this recommendation, the sundry civil appropriation act of 
March 3, 1871, authorized the President to prescribe regulations for admis- 
sion to the civil service. A civil service commission was appointed, and for 
two years appropriations were made for its support. The continuance of the 
appropriations was urged by Grant, and again by President Hayes in his an- 
nual messages of 1879 and 18S0, but without inducing congressional action. 
The assassination of President Garfield called public attention forcibly to the 
evils of the existing system of appointment and removal, and the annual mes- 
sage of President Arthur, December 6, 1S81, brought the subject of civil 
service reform strongly before Congress. A bill " to regulate and improve 
the civil service" was introduced in the Senate, December 6, 1S81, by George 
H. Pendleton of Ohio, and on January 11, 1882, was referred, together with 
a bill " to prevent extortion from persons in the public service, and bribery 
and coercion by such persons," to the Committee on the Civil Service and 
Retrenchment. The bill was reported with amendments March 29, the com- 
mittee report to accompany it not being submitted until May 15. The 
session closed without further action. The Pendleton bill was taken up 
December il and formed the principal subject of debate until the 27th, 
when, with various amendments, it passed the Senate by a vote of 38 to 5, 
;^;i not voting. The bill was reported in the House without amendment Jan- 
uary 4, 1883, read three times and passed, the final vote being 155 to 46, 88 
not voting. 

References. — Tex/ in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXII, 403-407. For the 
proceedings see the Hotise and Senate Journals, 47th Cong., ist and 2d Sess., 
and the Cong. Record. Pendleton's report of May 15 is Senate Report ^76. 
The annual reports of the Civil Service Commission are the primary authori- 
ties on the operation of the act ; see also the Proceedings of the National Civil 
Service Reform League. The pamphlet and periodical literature is extensive. 
On the earlier history of the movement see House Report 47, 40th Cong., 2d 
Sess. (Jenckes's report) ; Senate Exec. Doc. 10, 42d Cong., 2d Sess., and 
Senate Exec. Doc. ^3 (same in House Exec. Doc. 221'), 43d Cong., ist Sess. 
(commission reports) ; Senate Report sSg, ^^th. Cong., 1st Sess, (Boutwell's 
report) ; House Exec. Doc. i. Part i, 46th Cong., 2d Sess. (Eaton's report) ; 
House Exec. Doc. i. Part 8, ibid., and House Exec. Doc. g4, 46th Cong., 3d 
Sess. (New York regulations) ; Senate Report 872, 46th Cong., 3d Sess. 
(Pendleton's report). See also Senate Report 2373, 50th Cong,, ist Sess. 



i883] CIVIL SERVICE ACT 333 

An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the President is authorized to appoint, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, three persons, 
not more than two of whom shall be adherents of the same party, 
as Civil Service Commissioners, and said three commissioners 
shall constitute the United States Civil Service Commission. Said 
commissioners shall hold no other official place under the United 
States. 

The President may remove any commissioner ; and any vacancy 
in the position of commissioner shall be so filled by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, as to conform 
to said conditions for the first selection of commissioners. 
******* 

Sec. 2. That it shall be the duty of said commissioners : 

First. To aid the President, as he may request, in preparing 
suitable rules for carrying this act into effect, and when said rules 
shall have been promulgated it shall be the duty of all officers 
of the United States in the departments and offices to which any 
such rules may relate to aid, in all proper ways, in carrying said 
rules, and any modifications thereof, into effect. 

Second. And, among other things, said rules shall provide and 
declare, as nearly as the conditions of good administration will 
warrant, as follows : 

First, for open, competitive examinations for testing the fitness 
of applicants for the public service now classified or to be classi- 
fied hereunder. Such examinations shall be practical in their 
character, and so far as may be shall relate to those matters which 
will fairly test the relative capacity and fitness of the persons 
examined to discharge the duties of the service into which they 
seek to be appointed. 

Second, that all the offices, places, and employments so arranged 
or to be arranged in classes shall be filled by selections according 
to grade from among those graded highest as the results of such 
competitive examinations. 

Ihird, appointments to the public service aforesaid in the de- 



334 CIVIL SERVICE ACT [Jan. i6 

partments at Washington shall be apportioned among the several 
States and Territories and the District of Columbia upon the 
basis of population as ascertained at the last preceding census. 
Every application for an examination shall contain, among other 
things, a statement, under oath, setting forth his or her actual 
bona fide residence at the time of making the application, as well 
as how long he or she has been a resident of such place. 

Fourth, that there shall be a period of probation before any 
absolute appointment or employment aforesaid. 

Fifth, that no person in the public service is for that reason 
under any obligations to contribute to any political fund, or to 
render any political service, and that he will not be removed or 
otherwise prejudiced for refusing to do so. 

Sixth, that no person in said service has any right to use his 
official authority or influence to coerce the poUtical action of 
any .person or body. 

Seventh, there shall be non-competitive examinations in all 
proper cases before the commission, when competent persons do 
not compete, after notice has been given of the existence of the 
vacancy, under such rules as may be prescribed by the commis- 
sioners as to the manner of giving notice. 

Eighth, that notice shall be given in writing by the appointing 
power to said commission of the persons selected for appointment 
or employment from among those who have been examined, of 
the place of residence of such persons, of the rejection of any 
such persons after probation, of transfers, resignations, and re- 
movals, and of the date thereof, and a record of the same shall 
be kept by said commission. And any necessary exceptions 
from said eight fundamental provisions of the rules shall be set 
forth in connection with such rules, and the reasons therefor shall 
be stated in the annual reports of the commission. 

Third. Said commission shall, subject to the rules that may be 
made by the President, make regulations for, and have control of, 
such examinations, and, through its members or the examiners, 
it shall super\-ise and preserve the records of the same ; and said 
commission shall keep minutes of its own proceedings. 



i3S3] CIVIL SERVICE ACT 335 

Fourth. Said commission may make investigations concerning 
the facts, and may report upon all matters touching the enforce- 
ment and effects of said rules and regulations, and concerning 
the action of any examiner or board of examiners hereinafter 
provided for, and its own subordinates, and those in the public 
service, in respect to the execution of this act. 

Fifth. Said commission shall make an annual report to the 
President for transmission to Congress, showing its own action, 
the rules and regulations and the exceptions thereto in force, 
the practical effects thereof, and any suggestions it may approve 
for the more effectual accomplishment of the purposes of this 
act. 

Sec. 3. That said commission is authorized to employ a chief 
examiner, a part of whose duty it shall be, under its direction, to 
act with the examining boards, so far as practicable, whether at 
Washington or elsewhere, and to secure accuracy, uniformity, and 
justice in all their proceedings, which shall be at all times open 
to him. . . . The commission shall have a secretary, to be 
appointed by the President. ... It may, when necessary, em- 
ploy a stenographer, and a messenger. . . . The commission 
shall, at Washington, and in one or more places in each State 
and Territory where examinations are to take place, designate 
and select a suitable number of persons, not less than three, in 
the official service of the United States, residing in said State or 
Territory, after consulting the head of the department or office 
in which such persons serve, to be members of boards of ex- 
aminers, and may at any time substitute any other person in said 
service living in such State or Territory in the place of any one 
so selected. Such boards of examiners shall be so located as to 
make it reasonably convenient and inexpensive for applicants to 
attend before them ; and where there are persons to be examined 
in any State or Territory, examinations shall be held therein at 
least twice in each year. It shall be the duty of the collector, 
postmaster, and other officers of the United States, at any place 
outside of the District of Columbia where examinations are 
directed by the President or by said board to be held, to allow 



336 CIVIL SERVICE ACT [Jan. i6 

the reasonable use of the public buildings for holding such ex- 
aminations, and in all proper ways to facilitate the same. 
******* 

Sec. 5. That any said commissioner, examiner, copyist, or mes- 
senger, or any person in the public service who shall willfully and 
corruptly, by himself or in co-operation with one or more other 
persons, defeat, deceive, or obstruct any person in respect of his 
or her right of examination according to any such rules or regula- 
tions, or who shall willfully, corruptly, and falsely mark, grade, 
estimate, or report upon the examination or proper standing of 
any person examined hereunder, or aid in so doing, or who shall 
willfully and corruptly make any false representations concerning 
the same or concerning the person examined, or who shall willfully 
and corruptly furnish to any person any special or secret infor- 
mation for the purpose of either improving or injuring the pros- 
pects or chances of any person so examined, or to be examined, 
being appointed, employed, or promoted, shall for each such 
offense be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction 
thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred 
dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment 
not less than ten days, nor more than one year, or by both such 
fine and imprisonment. 

Sec. 6. That within sixty days after the passage of this act it 
shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, in as near con- 
formity as may be to the classification of certain clerks now exist- 
ing under the one hundred and sixty-third section of the Revised 
Statutes, to arrange in classes the several clerks and persons em- 
ployed by the collector, naval officer, surveyor, and appraisers, or 
either of them, or being in the public service, at their respective 
offices in each customs district where the whole number of said 
clerks and persons shall be all together as many as fifty. And 
thereafter, from time to time, on the direction of the President, 
said Secretary shall make the like classification or arrangement of 
clerks and persons so employed, in connection with any said office 
or offices, in any other customs district. And, upon like request, 
and for the purposes of this act, said Secretary shall arrange in 



iS83] CIVIL SERVICE ACT 337 

one or more of said classes, or of existing classes, any other clerks, 
agents, or persons employed under his department in any said 
district not now classified ; and every such arrangement and 
classification upon being made shall be reported to the President. 

Second. Within said sixty days it shall be the duty of the Post- 
master-General, in general conformity to said one hundred and 
sixty-third section, to separately arrange in classes the several 
clerks and persons employed, or in the public service, at each 
post-office, or under any postmaster of the United States, where 
the whole number of said clerks and persons shall together amount 
to as many as fifty. And thereafter, from time to time, on the 
direction of the President, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster- 
General to arrange in hke classes the clerks and persons so em- 
ployed in the postal service in connection with any other post-office ; 
and every such arrangement and classification upon being made 
shall be reported to the President. 

Third. That from time to time said Secretary, the Postmaster- 
General, and each of the heads of departments mentioned in the 
one hundred and fifty-eighth section of the Revised Statutes, and 
each head of an office, shall, on the direction of the President? 
and for facilitating the execution of this act, respectively revise 
any then existing classification or arrangement of those in their 
respective departments and offices, and shall, for the purposes of 
the examination herein provided for, include in one or more of 
such classes, so far as practicable, subordinate places, clerks, and 
officers in the public service pertaining to their respective depart- 
ments not before classified for examination. 

Sec. 7. That after the expiration of six months from the pas- 
sage of this act no officer or clerk shall be appointed, and no per- 
son shall be employed to enter or be promoted in either of the 
said classes now existing, or that may be arranged hereunder pur- 
suant to said rules, until he has passed an examination, or is shown 
to be specially exempted from such examination in conformity 
herewith. But nothing herein contained shall be construed to 
take from those honorably discharged from the military or naval 
service any preference conferred by the seventeen hundred and 
z 



338 CIVIL SERVICE ACT [Jan. i6 

fifty-fourth section of the Revised Statutes, nor to take from the 
President any authority not inconsistent with this act conferred 
by the seventeen hundred and fifty-third section of said statutes ; 
nor shall any officer not in the executive branch of the govern- 
ment, or any person merely employed as a laborer or workman, 
be required to be classified hereunder ; nor, unless by direction of 
the Senate, shall any person who has been nominated for confir- 
mation by the Senate be required to be classified or to pass an 
examination. 

Sec. 8. That no person habitually using intoxicating beverages 
to excess shall be appointed to, or retained in, any office, appoint- 
ment, or employment to which the provisions of this act are 
applicable. 

Sec. 9. That whenever there are already two or more members 
of a family in the public service in the grades covered by this act, 
no other member of such family shall be eligible to appointment 
to any of said grades. 

Sec. 10. That no recommendation of any person who shall 
apply for office or place under the provisions of this act which 
may be given by any Senator or member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, except as to the character or residence of the applicant, 
shall be received or considered by any person concerned in making 
any examination or appointment under this act. 

Sec. II. That no Senator, or Representative, or Territorial 
Delegate of the Congress, or Senator, Representative, or Dele- 
gate elect, or any officer or employee of either of said houses, 
and no executive, judicial, military, or naval officer of the United 
States, and no clerk or employee of any department, branch or 
bureau of the executive, judicial, or military or naval service of 
the United States, shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or receive, 
or be in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving, any 
assessment, subscription, or contribution for any political purpose 
whatever, from any officer, clerk, or employee of the United 
States, or any department, branch, or bureau thereof, or from any 
person receiving any salary or compensation from moneys derived 
from the Treasury of the United States. 



1883] CONTRACT LABOR ACT 339 

Sec. 12. That no person shall, in any room or building occu- 
pied in the discharge of official duties by any officer or employee 
of the United States mentioned in this act, or in any navy-yard, 
fort, or arsenal, soHcit in any manner whatever, or receive any con- 
tribution of money or any other thing of value for any political 
purpose whatever. 

Sec. 13. No officer or employee of the United States mentioned 
in this act shall discharge, or promote, or degrade, or in [any] 
manner change the official rank or compensation of any other 
officer or employee, or promise or threaten so to do, for giving or 
withholding or neglecting to make any contribution of money or 
other valuable thing for any political purpose. 

Sec. 14. That no officer, clerk, or other person in the service 
of the United States shall, directly or indirectly, give or hand over 
to any other officer, clerk, or person in the service of the United 
States, or to any Senator or Member of the House of Represen- 
tatives, or Territorial Delegate, any money or other valuable thing 
on account of or to be applied to the promotion of any political 
object whatever. 

Sec. 15. That any person who shall be guilty of violating any 
provision of the four foregoing sections shall be deemed guilty of 
a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a 
fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for a 
term not exceeding three years, or by such fine and imprisonment 
both, in the discretion of the court. 

Approved, January sixteenth, 1883. 



No. I 10. Contract Labor Act 

February 26, 1885 

A BILL to prohibit the entrance into the United States of contract laborers 
was introduced in the House, January 8, 1884, by Martin A. Foran of Ohio, 
and referred to the Committee on Labor. February 23 the bill was reported 
with amendments. The bill was not taken up until June 19; the same day 
it passed the House without a division. June 28 the bill was reported with- 



340 CONTRACT LABOR ACT [Feb, 26 

out amendment in the Senate, but the session closed without further action, 
February 13, 1885, consideration of the bill was resumed, and on the iSth the 
bill with various amendments passed the Senate, the vote being 50 to 9. On 
the 23d the House concurred in the Senate amendments. An amendatory 
act of February 23, 1887, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to make 
contracts with State officers to take charge of immigration at local ports, 
and required prohibited persons to be sent back at the expense of the owners 
of the vessels in which they came. The deficiencies appropriation act of 
October 19, 1888, amended the act of February 23. 1887, so as "to authorize 
the Secretary of the Treasury, in case he shall be satisfied that an immigrant 
has been allowed to land contrary to the prohibition of that law, to cause 
such immigrant within the period of one year after landing or entry, to be 
taken into custody and returned to the country from whence he came, at the 
expense of the owner of the importing vessel, or, if he entered from an ad- 
joining country, at the expense of the person previously contracting for the 
services," 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIII, 332, 333. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 48th Cong., ist and 2d Sess., 
and the Cong. Record. The text of the amended House bill is in the Record, 
June 19. The report submitted February 23 is House Report 444 ; the report 
of June 28 is Senate Report 820. See also House Exec. Doc. jgd and House 
Misc. Doc. 57,?, 50th Cong., ist Sess. ; Senate Report yS"], 5 2d Cong., ist 
Sess, 

An act to prohibit the importation and migration of foreigners and aliens under 
contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, its Territories, 
and the District of Columbia, 

Be it enacted . . ., That from and after the passage of this act 
it shall be unlawful for any person, company, partnership, or cor- 
poration, in any manner whatsoever, to prepay the transportation, 
or in any way assist or encourage the importation or migration of 
any alien or aliens, any foreigner or foreigners, into the United 
States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia, under contract 
or agreement, parol or special, express or implied, made previous 
to the importation or migration of such alien or aliens, foreigner 
or foreigners, to perform labor or service of any kind in the United 
States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia. 

Sec, 2. That all contracts or agreements, express or implied, 
parol or special, which may hereafter be made by and between 
any person, company, partnership, or corporation, and any 



18S5] CONTRACT LABOR ACT 34 1 

foreigner or foreigners, alien or aliens, to perform labor or ser- 
vice or having reference to the performance of labor or service by 
any person in the United States, its Territories, or the District of 
Columbia previous to the migration or importation of the person 
or persons whose labor or service is contracted for into the United 
States, shall be utterly void and of no effect. 

Sec. 3. That for every violation of any of the provisions of sec- 
tion one of this act the person, partnership, company, or corpora- 
tion violating the same, by knowingly assisting, encouraging or 
soHciting the migration or importation of any alien or aliens, for- 
eigner or foreigners, into the United States, its Territories, or the 
District of Columbia, to perform labor or service of any kind 
under contract or agreement, express or impUed, parol or special, 
with such alien or ahens, foreigner or foreigners, previous to be- 
coming residents or citizens of the United States, shall forfeit and 
pay for every such offence the sum of one thousand dollars, which 
may be sued for and recovered by the United States or by any 
person who shall first bring his action therefor including any such 
alien or foreigner who may be a party to any such contract or 
agreement, as debts of like amount are now recovered in the cir- 
cuit courts of the United States ; the proceeds to be paid into the 
Treasury of the United States ; and separate suits may be brought 
for each alien or foreigner being a party to such contract or agree- 
ment aforesaid. And it shall be the duty of the district attorney 
of the proper district to prosecute every such suit at the expense 
of the United States. 

Sec. 4. [Master of vessel, knowingly bringing such emigrant 
laborer, guilty of misdemeanor, punishable by fine or imprison- 
ment.] 

Sec. 5. That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to 
prevent any citizen or subject of any foreign country temporarily 
residing in the United States, either in private or official capacity, 
from engaging, under contract or otherwise, persons not residents 
or citizens of the United States to act as private secretaries, ser- 
vants, or domestics for such foreigner temporarily residing in the 
United States as aforesaid : nor shall this act be so construed as 



342 PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION ACT [Jan. 19 

to prevent any person, or persons, partnership, or corporation 
from engaging, under contract or agreement, skilled workmen in 
foreign countries to perform labor in the United States in or upon 
any new industry not at present estabUshed in the United States : 
Provided, That skilled labor for that purpose cannot be otherwise 
obtained ; nor shall the provisions of this act apply to professional 
actors, artists, lecturers, or singers, nor to persons employed 
strictly as personal or domestic servants : Provided, That nothing 
in this act shall be construed as prohibiting any individual from 
assisting any member of his family or any relative or personal 
friend, to migrate from any foreign country to the United States, 
for the purpose of settlement here.^ 

Sec. 6. That all laws or parts of laws conflicting herewith be, 
and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Approved, February 26, 1885. 



No. III. Presidential Succession Act 

January 19, 1886 

In his annual message of December 6, 1S81, President Arthur recommended 
further provision of law for the regulation of the presidential succession. A 
bill for the purpose was introduced in the Senate, June 16, 18S2, by George 
F. Hoar of Massachusetts, but no further action was taken. A similar bill 
passed the Senate January 25, 1S84, but was not finally acted on in the House. 
Another bill, introduced by Senator Hoar December 8, 18S5, was reported 
by the Committee on Privileges and Elections on the 14th, and on the 17th 
passed the Senate. The bill was reported without amendment in the House, 
January 13, 1886, and on the 15th passed, the final vote being 1S6 to 76, 62 
not voting. 

Referenxes. — Text in U.S. StatiUes at Large, XXIV, I, 2. For the pro- 
ceedings see the Home and Senate Journals, 49th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. The report submitted January 13 is House Report ^6. 

1 See act of March 3, 1891, chap. 551, section 5. 



iSS5] PRESIDENTL\L SUCCEiSIOX ACT 343 

An ac: :: prcviie f:r ihe performance of the duties of the oSce cf Presiient 
in case •; f the remrval, deaiii, resignation, or inability both of the President 
andMcc-Presidei::. 

Be it enacted . . ., That in case of removal, death, resignation, 
or inability of both the President and Vice-President of the 
United States, the Secretar)- of State, or if there be none, or in 
case of his removal, death, resignation, or inabihty, then the Sec- 
retan." of the Treasurj-, or if there be none, or in case of his re- 
moval, death, resignation, or inabihty, then the Secretary of War, 
or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, 
or inabihty, then the Attorney-General, or if there be none, or in 
case of his remo\-al, death, resignation, or inability, then the Post- 
master-General, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, 
death, resignation, or inabihty, then the Secretary of the Na\-y, or 
if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or 
inabiUt}', then the Secretary of the Interior, shall act as President 
until the disabihty of the President or Vice-President is removed 
or a President shall be elected : Provided, That whenever the 
powers and duties of the ofi5ce of President of the United States 
shall devolve upon any of the persons named herein, if Congress 
be not then in session, or if it would not meet in accordance with 
law within twenty days thereafter, it shall be the dut}- of the per- 
son upon whom said powers and duties shall devolve to issue a 
proclamation convening Congress in extraordinary session, gising 
twenty da}-s' notice of the time of meeting. 

Sec. 2. That the preceding section shall only be held to 
describe and apply to such officers as shall have been appointed 
by the ad\ice and consent of the Senate to the offices therein 
named, and such as are ehgible to the office of President under 
the Constitution, and not under impeachment by the House of 
Representatives of the United States at the time the powers and 
duties of the office shall devolve upon them respectively. 

Sec 3. [Sections 146-150 of the Re\-ised Statutes repealed.^ 
Approved, January 19, 1886. 

1 These sections devolve the succession upon the President of the Senate and 
the Speaker of the House. 



344 SPECIAL LAWS IN TERRITORIES [July 30 

No. 112. Act prohibiting Special Laws in 
the Territories 

July 30, 1886 

A BILL to prohibit the passage of special or local laws in the Territories 
and to limit territorial indebtedness was introduced in the House, February i, 
1886, by William M. Springer of Illinois. It was stated that the provisions 
of the bill were taken verbatim from the constitution of Illinois. The bill was 
reported with a verbal amendment April 6, and passed the House May i. 
The Senate made numerous changes, and passed the amended bill June 17. 
The House refused to agree to all the Senate amendments, and a conference 
committee settled the final form of the bill. An amendatory act of July 30, 
1886, authorized municipal corporations in the Territories to issue bonds 
" for sanitary and health purposes, the construction of sewers, waterworks, and 
the improvement of streets," provided such issue were voted by the tax- 
payers of the municipality at an election called for the purpose. 

References. — Text m. U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIV, 170, 171. For 
the proceedings see the Hotise and Senate Journals, 49th Cong., ist Sess., 
and the Cong. Record. The text of the House bill is in the Record, May i ; 
the amendments reported in the Senate are in ibid., June 17. See also Senate 
Report 1327. 

An act to prohibit the passage of local or special laws in the Territories of the 
United States, to limit Territorial indebtedness, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the legislatures of the Territories of 
the United States now or hereafter to be organized shall not pass 
local or special laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that 
is to say : 

Granting divorces. 

Changing the names of persons or places. 

Laying out, opening, altering, and working roads or highways. 

Vacating roads, town-plats, streets, alleys, and pubHc grounds. 

Locating or changing county seats. 

Regulating county and township affairs. 

Regulating the practice in courts of justice. 

Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, 
police magistrates, and constables. 



i886] SPECIAL LAWS IN TERRITORIES 345 

Providing for changes of venue in civil and criminal cases. 

Incorporating cities, towns, or villages, or changing or amend- 
ing the charter of any town, city, or village. 

For the punishment of crimes or misdemeanors. 

For the assessment and collection of taxes for Territorial, 
county, township, or road purposes. 

Summoning and impaneling grand or petit jurors. 

Providing for the management of common schools. 

Regulating the rate of interest on money. 

The opening and conducting of any election or designating the 
place of voting. 

The sale or mortgage of real estate belonging to minors or others 
under disability. 

The protection of game or fish. 

Chartering or licensing ferries or toll bridges. 

Remitting fines, penalties, or forfeitures. 

Creating, increasing, or decreasing fees, percentage, or allow- 
ances of public officers during the term for which said officers are 
elected or appointed. 

Changing the law of descent. 

Granting to any corporation, association, or individual the right 
to lay down railroad tracks, or amending existing charters for such 
purpose. 

Granting to any corporation, association, or individual any 
special or exclusive privilege, immunity, or franchise whatever. 

In all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, 
no special law shall be enacted in any of the Territories of the 
United States by the Territorial legislatures thereof. 

Sec. 2. That no Territory of the United States now or hereafter 
to be organized, or any political or municipal corporation or sub- 
division of any such Territory, shall hereafter make any subscrip- 
tion to the capital stock of any incorporated company, or company 
or association having corporate powers, or in any manner loan its 
credit to or use it for the benefit of any such company or associa- 
tion, or borrow any money for the use of any such company or 
association. 



346 SPECIAL LAWS IN TERRITORIES [July 30 

Sec. 3. That no law of any Territorial legislature shall authorize 
any debt to be contracted by or on behalf of such Territory except 
in the following cases : To meet a casual deficit in the revenues, 
to pay the interest upon the Territorial debt, to suppress insurrec- 
tions, or to provide for the public defense, except that in addition 
to any indebtedness created for such purposes, the legislature may 
authorize a loan for the erection of penal, charitable or educational 
institutions for such Territory', if the total indebtedness of the Ter- 
ritory is not thereby made to exceed one per centum upon the 
assessed value of the taxable property in such Territory as shown 
by the last general assessment for taxation. And nothing in this 
act shall be construed to prohibit the refunding of any existing 
indebtedness of such Territory or of any political or municipal 
corporation, county, or other sub-division therein. 

Sec. 4. That no political or municipal corporation, county, or 
other sub-division in any of the Territories of the United States 
shall ever become indebted in any manner or for any purpose to 
any amount in the aggregate, including existing indebtedness, 
exceeding four per centum on the value of the taxable property 
within such corporation, county, or sub-division, to be ascertained 
by the last assessment for Territorial and county taxes previous to 
the incurring of such indebtedness ; and all bonds or obligations 
in excess of such amount given by such corporation shall be void : 
That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to 
affect the validity of any act of any Territorial legislature hereto- 
fore enacted, or of any obligations existing or contracted there- 
under, nor to preclude the issuing of bonds already contracted for 
in pursuance of express provisions of law ; nor to prevent any Ter- 
ritorial legislature from legalizing the acts of any county, munici- 
pal corporation, or sub-division of any territory as to any bonds 
heretofore issued or contracted to be issued. 

Sec. 5. That section eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, title 
twenty-three, of the Revised Statutes of the United States be 
amended to read as follows : 

" The legislative assemblies of the several Territories shall not 
grant private charters or special privileges, but they may, by gen- 



i8S6] ELECTORAL COUNT ACT 347 

eral incorporation acts, permit persons to associate themselves 
together as bodies corporate for mining, manufacturing, and other 
industrial pursuits, and for conducting the business of insurance, 
banks of discount and deposit (but not of issue) loan, trust, and 
guarantee associations, and for the construction or operation of 
rail-roads, wagon-roads, irrigating ditches, and the colonization 
and improvement of lands in connection therewith, or for colleges, 
semenaries, churches, libraries, or any other benevolent, charitable, 
or scientific association." 

Sec. 6. That nothing in this act contained shall be construed 
to abridge the power of Congress to annul any law passed by a 
Territorial legislature, or to modify any existing law of Congress 
requiring in any case that the laws of any Territory shall be sub- 
mitted to Congress. 

Sec. 7. That all acts and parts of acts hereafter passed by any 
Territorial legislature in conflict with the provisions of this act shall 
be null and void. 

Approved, July 30, 1886. 



No. 113. Electoral Count Act 

February 3, 1887 

A BILL to regulate the electoral count was introduced in the Senate, 
December 8, 1885, by Edmunds of Vermont, and referred to the Committee 
on Privileges and Elections. The bill was reported on the 17th without 
amendment, and February 2, after debate, was recommitted. A substitute 
was reported on the 25th, and March 17 passed the Senate. The bill with 
amendments was reported in the House April 15, but the session closed 
without further action. December 9 the bill was taken up, and, with various 
amendments, passed. A conference committee settled the final form of the 
bill. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIV, 373-375. For 
the proceedings see the Hotise and Senate Journals, 49th Cong., and the 
Cong. Record. The text of the Senate bill is in the Record, March 17; the 
amendments reported in the House are in ibid., December 9, 1886. See also 
House Report 1638, 49th Cong., 1st Sess. 



348 ELECTORAL COUNT ACT [Feb. 3 

An act to fix the day for the meeting of the electors of President and Vice- 
President, and to provide for and regulate the counting of the votes for 
President and Vice-President, and the decision of questions arising thereon. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the electors of each State shall meet 
and give their votes on the second Monday in January next 
following their appointment, at such place in each State as the 
legislature of such State shall direct. 

Sec. 2. That if any State shall have provided, by laws enacted 
prior to the day fixed for the appointment of the electors, for its 
final determination of any controversy or contest concerning the 
appointment of all or any of the electors of such State, by judicial 
or other methods or procedures, and such determination shall have 
been made at least six days before the time fixed for the meeting 
of the electors, such determination made pursuant to such law so 
existing on said day, and made at least six days prior to the said 
time of meeting of the electors, shall be conclusive, and shall 
govern in the counting of the electoral votes as provided in the 
Constitution, and as hereinafter regulated, so far as the ascertain- 
ment of the electors appointed by such State is concerned. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the executive of each 
State, as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the appoint- 
ment of electors in such State, by the final ascertainment under 
and in pursuance of the laws of such State providing for such 
ascertainment, to communicate, under the seal of the State, to 
the Secretary of State of the United States, a certificate of such 
ascertainment of the electors appointed, setting forth the names 
of such electors and the canvass or other ascertainment under the 
laws of such State of the number of votes given or cast for each 
person for whose appointment any and all votes have been given 
or cast; and it shall also thereupon be the duty of the executive 
of each State to deUver to the electors of such State, on or before 
the day on which they are required by the preceding section to 
meet, the same certificate, in triplicate, under the seal of the 
State ; and such certificate shall be inclosed and transmitted by 
the electors at the same time and in the same manner as is 
provided by law for transmitting by such electors to the seat of 



1 887] ELECTORAL COUNT ACT 349 

Government the lists of all persons voted for as President and 
of all persons voted for as Vice-President ; ^ and section one 
hundred and thirty-six of the Revised Statutes ^ is hereby re- 
pealed ; and if there shall have been any final determination in 
a State of a controversy or contest as provided for in section 
two of this act, it shall be the duty of the executive of such 
State, as soon as practicable after such determination, to com- 
municate, under the seal of the State, to the Secretary of State 
of the United States, a certificate of such determination, in form 
and manner as the same shall have been made ; and the Secretary 
of State of the United States, as soon as practicable after the 
receipt at the State Department of each of the certificates here- 
inbefore directed to be transmitted to the Secretary of State, shall 
publish, in such public newspaper as he shall designate, such 
certificates in full; and at the first meeting of Congress there- 
after he shall transmit to the two Houses of Congress copies in 
full of each and every such certificate so received theretofore at 
the State Department. 

Sec. 4. That Congress shall be in session on the second 
Wednesday in February succeeding every meeting of the electors. 
The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in the Hall 
of the House of Representatives at the hour of one o'clock in 
the afternoon on that day, and the President of the Senate shall 
be their presiding officer. Two tellers shall be previously ap- 
pointed on the part of the Senate and two on the part of the 
House of Representatives, to whom shall be handed, as they are 
opened by the President of the Senate, all the certificates and 
papers purporting to be certificates of the electoral votes, which 
certificates and papers shall be opened, presented, and acted 

1 By an act of October 19, 1888, certificates and lists of votes for President and 
Vice-President were required to be forwarded " to the President of the Senate forth- 
with after the second Monday in January on which the electors shall give their 
votes." 

2 " It shall be the duty of the executive of each State to cause three lists of the 
names of the electors of such State to be made and certified, and to be delivered 
to the electors on or before the day on which they are required ... to meet" 
(act of March i, 1792, sec. 3). 



350 ELECTORAL COUNT ACT [Feb. 3 

upon in the alphabetical order of the States, beginning with the 
letter A ; and said tellers, having then read the same in the 
presence and hearing of the two Houses, shall make a Hst of 
the votes as they shall appear from the said certificates ; and 
the votes having been ascertained and counted in the manner 
and according to the rules in this act provided, the result of the 
same shall be delivered to the President of the Senate, who shall 
thereupon announce the state of the vote, which announcement 
shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons, if any, 
elected President and Vice-President of the United States, and, 
together with a list of the votes, be entered on the Journals of 
the two Houses. Upon such reading of any such certificate or 
paper, the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. 
Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly 
and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and 
shall be signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the 
House of Representatives before the same shall be received. 
When all objections so made to any vote or paper from a State 
shall have been received and read, the Senate shall thereupon 
withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the Senate 
for its decision ; and the Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives shall, in like manner, submit such objections to the House 
of Representatives for its decision ; and no electoral vote or 
votes from any State which shall have been regularly given by 
electors whose appointment has been lawfully certified to accord- 
ing to section three of this act from which but one return has 
been received shall be rejected, but the two Houses concurrently 
may reject the vote or votes when they agree that such vote or 
votes have not been so regularly given by electors whose appoint- 
ment has been so certified. If more than one return or paper 
purporting to be a return from a State shall have been received 
by the President of the Senate, those votes, and those only, shall 
be counted which shall have been regularly given by the electors 
who are shown by the determination mentioned in section two 
of this act to have been appointed, if the determination in said 
section provided for shall have been made, or by such successors 



1887] ELECTORAL COUNT ACT 35 1 

or substitutes, in case of a vacancy in the board of electors so 
ascertained, as have been appointed to fill such vacancy in the 
mode provided by the laws of the State ; but in case there shall 
arise the question which of two or more of such State authorities 
determining what electors have been appointed, as mentioned in 
section two of this act, is the lawful tribunal of such State, the 
votes regularly given of those electors, and those only, of such 
State shall be counted whose title as electors the two Houses, 
acting separately, shall concurrently decide is supported by the 
decision of such State so authorized by its laws ; and in such 
case of more than one return or paper purporting to be a return 
from a State, if there shall have been no such determination of 
the question in the State aforesaid, then those votes, and those 
only, shall be counted which the two Houses shall concurrently 
decide were cast by lawful electors appointed in accordance with 
the laws of the State, unless the two Houses, acting separately, 
shall concurrently decide such votes not to be the lawful votes 
of the legally appointed electors of such State. But if the two 
Houses shall disagree in respect of the counting of such votes, 
then, and in that case, the votes of the electors whose appoint- 
ment shall have been certified by the Executive of the State, 
under the seal thereof, shall be counted. When the two Houses 
have voted, they shall immediately again meet, and the presiding 
officer shall then announce the decision of the questions submitted. 
No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon until 
the objections previously made to the votes or papers from any 
State shall have been finally disposed of. 

Sec. 5. That while the two Houses shall be in the meeting as 
provided in this act the President of the Senate shall have power 
to preserve order ; and no debate shall be allowed and no ques- 
tion shall be put by the presiding officer except to either House 
on a motion to withdraw. 

Sec. 6. That when the two Houses separate to decide upon 
an objection that may have been made to the counting of any 
electoral vote or votes from any State, or other question arising 
in the matter, each Senator and Representative may speak to 



352 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

such objection or question five minutes, and not more than once ; 
but after such debate shall have lasted two hours it shall be the 
duty of the presiding officer of each House to put the main 
question without further debate. 

Sec. 7. That at such joint meeting of the two Houses seats 
shall be provided as follows : For the President of the Senate, 
the Speaker's chair ; for the Speaker, immediately upon his left ; 
the Senators, in the body of the Hall upon the right of the 
presiding officer; for the Representatives, in the body of the 
Hall not provided for the Senators; for the tellers, Secretary of 
the Senate, and Clerk of the House of Representatives, at the 
Clerk's desk ; for the other officers of the two Houses, in front 
of the Clerk's desk and upon each side of the Speaker's platform. 
Such joint meeting shall not be dissolved until the count of elec- 
toral votes shall be completed and the result declared ; and no 
recess shall be taken unless a question shall have arisen in regard 
to counting any such votes, or otherwise under this act, in which 
case it shall be competent for either House, acting separately, in 
the manner hereinbefore provided, to direct a recess of such 
House not beyond the next calendar day, Sunday excepted, at 
the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon. But if the counting 
of the electoral votes and the declaration of the result shall not 
have been completed before the fifth calendar day next after 
such first meeting of the two Houses, no further or other recess 
shall be taken by either House. 

Approved, February 3, 1887. 



No. 114. Interstate Commerce Act 

February 4, 1887 

A BILL to regulate interstate commerce was reported in the Senate, Janu- 
ary 18, 1886, by Shelby M. Cullom of Illinois, from the select committee 
appointed " to investigate and report on the subject of regulating the trans- 



iSS;] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 353 

portation of freights and passengers between the several States by railroads 
and water routes." Accompanying the bill was a voluminous report. The 
bill was recommitted, and a substitute reported February 16. The bill was 
taken up April 14, and formed one of the principal subjects of debate until 
May 12, when, with numerous amendments, the bill passed, the tinal vote 
being 47 to 4, 25 not voting. A substitute was reported in the House 
May 22. The bill was taken up July 21, and on the 30th the amended 
substitute passed the House by a vote of 192 to 41, 89 not voting. The 
session closed without further action beyond the appointment of a conference 
committee. The report of the committee was submitted December 15, and 
was accepted by the Senate, January 14, 1887, by a vote of 43 to 15, and by 
the House, January 21, by a vote of 219 to 41, 58 not voting. Extensive 
amendments to the act were made by an act of March 2, 1889. The scope 
of the commission, and its authority to compel testimony, were further de- 
fined by an act of February 10, 1891. An act of February 11, 1893, provided 
that no person should be excused from testifying before the commission, or 
from producing papers, etc., on the ground that such evidence would tend to 
incriminate him ; but such witnesses were exempted from prosecution or 
penalty on account of acts concerning which they were required to give 
evidence. 

References.— 7V;t:^in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIV, 379-387. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 49th Cong., 1st and 2d Sess., 
and the Cong. Record. The text of the House bill is in the Record, July 30. 
CuUom's report of January 18, 1886, is Senate Report 46, 49th Cong., 1st 
Sess. The annual reports of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the de- 
bates in Congress on the amendatory acts, are the principal authorities for the 
workings of the statute. For decisions under the act to 1897 ^^^ Gould and 
Tucker, Azotes on the Revised Statutes, II, 618-621. On ticket brokerage see 
Senate Doc. 128 and House Report 232, 55th Cong., 2d Sess. An act of June 
I, 1898, provided for the arbitration of disputes between railroads and their 
employees; on this see Senate Report ^gi and House Report 4J4, 55th Cong., 
2d Sess. 

An act to regulate commerce. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the provisions of this act shall apply 
to any common carrier or carriers engaged in the transportation 
of passengers or property wholly by railroad, or partly by railroad 
and partly by water when both are used, under a common control, 
management, or arrangement, for a continuous carriage or ship- 
ment, from one State or Territory of the United States, or the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, to any other State or Territory of the United 



354 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

States, or the District of Columbia, or from any place in the United 
States to an adjacent foreign country, or from any place in the 
United States through a foreign country to any other place in the 
United States, and also to the transportation in like manner of 
property shipped from any place in the United States to a foreign 
country and carried from such place to a port of transshipment, or 
shipped from a foreign country to any place in the United States 
and carried to such place from a port of entry either in the United 
States or an adjacent foreign country : Provided, however, That 
the provisions of this act shall not apply to the transportation of 
passengers or property, or to the receiving, delivering, storage, or 
handling of property, wholly within one State, and not shipped to 
or from a foreign country from or to any State or Territory as 
aforesaid. 

The term " railroad " as used in this act shall include all bridges 
and ferries used or operated in connection with any railroad, and 
also all the road in use by any corporation operating a railroad, 
whether owned or operated under a contract, agreement, or lease ; 
and the term " transportation " shall include all instrumentalities 
of shipment or carriage. 

All charges made for any service rendered or to be rendered in 
the transportation of passengers or property as aforesaid, or in 
connection therewith, or for the receiving, delivering, storage, or 
handling of such property, shall be reasonable and just ; and 
every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited 
and declared to be unlawful. 

Sec. 2. That if any common carrier subject to the provisions of 
this act shall, directly or indirectly, by any special rate, rebate, 
drawback, or other device, charge, demand, collect, or receive 
from any person or persons a greater or less compensation for 
any service rendered, or to be rendered, in the transportation of 
passengers or property, subject to the provisions of this act, than 
it charges, demands, collects, or receives from any other person 
or persons for doing for him or them a like and contemporaneous 
service in the transportation of a like kind of traffic under sub- 
stantially similar circumstances and conditions, such common 



1887] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 355 

carrier shall be deemed guilty of unjust discrimination, which is 
hereby prohibited and declared to be unlawful' 

Sec. 3. That it shall be unlawful for any common carrier sub- 
ject to the provisions of this act to make or give any undue or 
unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, 
company, firm, corporation, or locality, or any particular descrip- 
tion of traffic, in any respect whatsoever, or to subject any particu- 
lar person, company, firm, corporation, or locality, or any 
particular description of traffic, to any undue or unreasonable 
prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever. 

Every common carrier subject to the provisions of this act 
shall, according to their respective powers, afford all reasonable, 
proper, and equal facilities for the interchange of traffic between 
their respective lines, and for the receiving, forwarding, and de- 
livering of passengers and property to and from their several 
lines and those connecting therewith, and shall not discriminate 
in their rates and charges between such connecting lines; but 
this shall not be construed as requiring any such common carrier 
to give the use of its tracks or terminal facilities to another carrier 
engaged in like business. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be unlawful for any common carrier sub- 
ject to the provisions of this act to charge or receive any greater 
compensation in the aggregate for the transportation of passengers 
or of Uke kind of property, under substantially similar circum- 
stances and conditions, for a shorter than for a longer distance 
over the same line, in the same direction, the shorter being in- 
cluded within the longer distance ; but this shall not be construed 
as authorizing any common carrier within the terms of this act to 
charge and receive as great compensation for a shorter as for a 
longer distance : Provided, however, That upon application to the 
Commission appointed under the provisions of this act, such com- 
mon carrier may, in special cases, after investigation by the Com- 
mission, be authorized to charge less for longer than for shorter 
distances for the transportation of passengers or property ; and 

1 Amended by act of February 8, 1895, to allow the issue of interchangeable mile- 
age tickets. 



356 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

the Commission may from time to time prescribe the extent to 
which such designated common carrier may be relieved from the 
operation of this section of this act. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be unlawful for any common carrier sub- 
ject to the provisions of this act to enter into any contract, agree- 
ment, or combination with any other common carrier or carriers 
for the pooling of freights of different and competing railroads, or 
to divide between them the aggregate or net proceeds of the 
earnings of such railroads, or any portion thereof; and in any 
case of an agreement for the pooling of freights as aforesaid, each 
day of its continuance shall be deemed a separate offense. 

Sec. 6. That every common carrier subject to the provisions 
of this act shall print and keep for public inspection schedules 
showing the rates and fares and charges for the transportation 
of passengers and property which any such common carrier has 
established and which are in force at the time upon its railroad, as 
defined by the first section of this act. The schedules printed as 
aforesaid by any such common carrier shall plainly state the places 
upon its railroad between which property and passengers will be 
carried, and shall contain the classification of freight in force upon 
such railroad, and shall also state separately the terminal charges 
and any rules or regulations which in any wise change, affect, or 
determine any part or the aggregate of such aforesaid rates and 
fares and charges. Such schedules shall be plainly printed in 
large type, of at least the size of ordinary pica, and copies for the 
use of the public shall be kept in every depot or station upon any 
such railroad, in such places and in such form that they can be 
conveniently inspected.^ 

Any common carrier subject to the provisions of this act receiv- 
ing freight in the United States to be carried through a foreign 
country to any place in the United States shall also in like man- 

1 By act of March 2, 1889, sec. 1, the last sentence was amended to read : " Such 
schedules shall be plainly printed in large type, and copies for the use of the pub- 
lic shall be posted in two public and conspicuous places, in every depot, station, or 
office of such carrier where passengers or freight, respectively, are received for 
transportation, in such form that they shall be accessible to the public and can be 
conveniently inspected." 



1887] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 35/ 

ner print and keep for public inspection, at 6very depot where 
such freight is received for shipment, schedules showing the 
through rates established and charged by such common carrier to 
all points in the United States beyond the foreign country to 
which it accepts freight for shipment ; and any freight shipped 
from the United States through a foreign country into the United 
States, the through rate on which shall not have been made public 
as required by this act, shall, before it is admitted into the United 
States from said foreign country, be subject to customs duties as 
if said freight were of foreign production ; and any law in conflict 
with this section is hereby repealed. 

No advance shall be made in the rates, fares, and charges 
which have been established and published as aforesaid by any 
common carrier in compliance with the requirements of this sec- 
tion, except after ten days' public notice, which shall plainly state 
the changes proposed to be made in the schedule then in force, 
and the time when the increased rates, fares, or charges will go 
into effect ; and the proposed changes shall be shown by printing 
new schedules, or shall be plainly indicated upon the schedules in 
force at the time and kept for public inspection. Reductions in 
such published rates, fares, or charges may be made without pre- 
vious public notice; but whenever any such reduction is made, 
notice of the same shall immediately be publicly posted and the 
changes made shall immediately be made public by printing new 
schedules, or shall immediately be plainly indicated upon the 
schedules at the time in force and kept for pubHc inspection.^ 

And when any such common carrier shall have established and 
published its rates, fares, and charges in compliance with the pro- 
visions of this section, it shall be unlawful for such common carrier 
to charge, demand, collect, or receive from any person or persons 
a greater or less compensation for the transportation of passengers 
or property, or for any services in connection therewith, than is 

1 Amended by act of March 2, 1889, sec. i, to read : " Reductions in such pub- 
lished rates, fares, or charges shall only be made after three days' previous public 
notice, to be given in the same manner that notice of an advance in rates must be 
given." 



358 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

specified in such published schedule of rates, fares, and charges as 
may at the time be in force. 

Every common carrier subject to the prov-isions of this act shall 
file with the Commission hereinafter pro\-ided for copies of its 
schedules of rates, fares, and charges which have been estabUshed 
and published in compliance with the requirements of this section, 
and shall promptly notify said Commission of all changes made in 
the same. Every such common carrier shall also file with said 
Commission copies of all contracts, agreements, or arrangements 
with other common carriers in relation to any traffic affected by 
the provisions of this act to which it may be a party. And in 
cases where passengers and freight pass over continuous lines or 
routes operated by more than one common carrier, and the several 
common carriers operating such Hnes or routes establish joint 
tariflfe of rates or fares or charges for such continuous lines or 
routes, copies of such joint tariffs shall also, in hke manner, be 
filed with said Commission. Such joint rates, fares, and charges 
on such continuous lines so filed as aforesaid shall be made public 
by such common carriers when directed by said Commission, in 
so far as may, in the judgment of the Commission, be deemed 
practicable ; and said Commission shall fi-om time to time pre- 
scribe the measure of publicity which shall be given to such rates, 
fares, and charges, or to such part of them as it may deem it 
practicable for such common carriers to publish, and the places in 
which they shall be published;^ but no common carrier party to 
any such joint tariff shall be Uable for the failure of any other com- 
mon carrier party thereto to obser\e and adhere to the rates, 
feres, or charges thus made and pubHshed.- 

1 The remainder of the sentence is omitted in the amended fonn of the section 
contained in the act of March 2, 1889, sec i. 

* The act of March 2, iSSg, sec i, inserts between this paragraph and the next 
the followring : 

" No advance shall be made in joint rates, feres, and charges, shown upon joint 
tariffs, except alter ten dajrs' notice to the Commission, which shall p:ainiy state the 
cdianges proposed to be made in the schedule then in force, and the time when the 
increased rates, &res, or charges will go into effect No reduction shall be made 
in joint rates, feres, and charges, except after three days" notice, to be given to the 
Commission as is above provided in the case of an advance of joint rates. The 



1887] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 359 

If any such common carrier shall neglect or refuse to file or 
publish its schedules or tariffs of rates, fares, and charges as pro- 
vided in this section, or any part of the same, such common carrier 
shall, in addition to other penalties herein prescribed, be subject 
to a writ of mandamus, to be issued by any circuit court of the 
United States in the judicial district wherein the principal office 
of said common carrier is situated or wherein such offense may 
be committed, and if such common carrier be a foreign corpora- 
tion, in the judicial circuit wherein such common carrier accepts 
traffic and has an agent to perform such service, to compel com- 
pliance with the aforesaid provisions of this section ; and such 
writ shall issue in the name of the people of the United States, at 
the relation of the Commissioners appointed under the provisions 
of this act ; and failure to comply with its requirements shall be 
punishable as and for a contempt ; and the said Commissioners, 
as complainants, may also apply, in any such circuit court of the 
United States, for a writ of injunction against such common car- 
rier, to restrain such common carrier from receiving or transport- 
ing property among the several States and Territories of the 
United States, or between the United States and adjacent foreign 
countries, or between ports of transshipment and of entry and the 
several States and Territories of the United States, as mentioned in 
the first section of this act, until such common carrier shall have 
comphed with the aforesaid provisions of this section of this act. 



Commission may make public such proposed advances, or such reductions, in such 
manner as may, in its judgment, be deemed practicable, and may prescribe from 
time to time the measure of publicity which common carriers shall give to advances 
or reductions in joint tariffs. 

" It shall be unlawful for any common carrier, party to any joint tariff, to charge, 
demand, collect, or receive from any person or persons a greater or less compensa- 
tion for the transportation of persons or property, or for any services in connection 
therewith, between any points as to which a joint rate, fare, or charge is named 
thereon than is specified in the schedule filed with the Commission in force at the 
time. 

" The Commission may determine and prescribe the form in which the sched- 
ules required by this section to be kept open to public inspection shall be prepared 
and arranged, and may change the form from time to time as shall be found 
expedient." 



360 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

Sec. 7. That it shall be unlawful for any common carrier subject 
to the provisions of this act to enter into any combination, contract, 
or agreement, expressed or implied, to prevent, by change of time 
schedule, carriage in different cars, or by other means or devices, 
the carriage of freights from being continuous from the place of 
shipment to the place of destination ; and no break of bulk, stop- 
page, or interruption made by such common carrier shall prevent 
the carriage of freights from being and being treated as one con- 
tinuous carriage from the place of shipment to the place of desti- 
nation, unless such break, stoppage, or interruption was made in 
good faith for some necessary purpose, and without any intent to 
avoid or unnecessarily interrupt such continuous carriage or to 
evade any of the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 8. That in case any common carrier subject to the pro- 
visions of this act shall do, cause to be done, or permit to be done 
any act, matter, or thing in this act prohibited or declared to be 
unlawful, or shall omit to do any act, matter, or thing in this act 
required to be done, such common carrier shall be liable to the 
person or persons injured thereby for the full amount of damages 
sustained in consequence of any such violation of the provisions 
of this act, together with a reasonable counsel or attorney's fee, to 
be fixed by the court in every case of recovery, which attorney's 
fee shall be taxed and collected as part of the costs in the case. 

Sec. 9. That any person or persons claiming to be damaged by 
any common carrier subject to the provisions of this act may 
either make complaint to the Commission as hereinafter provided 
for, or may bring suit in his or their own behalf for the recovery 
of the damages for which such common carrier may be liable 
under the provisions of this act, in any district or circuit court of 
the United States of competent jurisdiction ; but such person or 
persons shall not have the right to pursue both of said remedies, 
and must in each case elect which one of the two methods of pro- 
cedure herein provided for he or they will adopt. In any such 
action brought for the recovery of damages the court before which 
the same shall be pending may compel any director, ofificer, re- 
ceiver, trustee, or agent of the corporation or company defendant in 



iSS;] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 361 

such suit to attend, appear, and testify in such case, and may com- 
pel the production of the books and papers of such corporation 
or company party to any such suit ; the claim that any such testi- 
mony or evidence may tend to criminate the person giving such 
evidence shall not excuse such witness from testifying, but such 
evidence or testimony shall not be used against such person on 
the trial of any criminal proceeding. 

Sec. 10. That any common carrier subject to the provisions of 
this act, or, whenever such common carrier is a corporation, any 
director or officer thereof, or any receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, 
or person acting for or employed by such corporation, who, alone 
or with any other corporation, company, person, or party, shall 
willfully do or cause to be done, or shall willingly suffer or permit 
to be done, any act, matter, or thing in this act prohibited or 
declared to be unlawful, or who shall aid or abet therein, or who 
shall willfully omit or fail to do any act, matter, or thing in this act 
required to be done, or shall cause or willingly suffer or permit 
any act, matter, or thing so directed or required by this act to be 
done not to be done so, or shall aid or abet any such omission or 
failure, or shall be guilty of any infraction of this act, or shall aid 
or abet therein, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
shall, upon conviction thereof in any district court of the United 
States within the jurisdiction of which such offense was committed, 
be subject to a fine of not to exceed five thousand dollars for each 
offense.^ 



1 The act of March 2, 1889, sec. 2, adds the following proviso and additional 
sections : " Provided, That if the offense for which any person shall be convicted as 
aforesaid shall be an unlawful discrimination in rates, fares, or charges, for the 
transportation of passengers or property, such person shall, in addition to the tine 
hereinbefore provided for, be liable to imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term 
of not exceeding two years, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion 
of the court. 

" Any common carrier subject to the provisions- of this act, or, whenever such 
common carrier is a corporation, any officer or agent thereof, or any person acting 
for or employed by such corporation, who, by means of false billing, false classifica- 
tion, false weighing, or f;ilse report of weiglit, or by any oiher device or means, 
shall knowingly and willfully assist, or shall willingly suffer or permit, any person 
or persons to obtain transportation for property at less than the regular rates then 



362 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

Sec. II. That a Commission is hereby created and estabhshed 
to be known as the Inter-State Commerce Commission, which shall 
be composed of five Commissioners, who shall be appointed by 
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
The Commissioners first appointed under this act shall continue 
in office for the term of two, three, four, five, and six years, respec- 
tively, from the first day of January, anno Domini eighteen hun- 



established and in force on the line of transportation of such common carrier, shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any 
court of the United States of competent jurisdiction within the district in which 
such offense was committed, be subject to a fine of not exceeding five thousand 
dollars, or imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, 
or both, in the discretion of the court, for each offense. 

" Any person and any officer or agent of any corporation or company who shall 
deliver property for transportation to any common carrier, subject to the provisions 
of this act, or for whom as consignor or consignee any such carrier shall transport 
property, who shall knowingly and willfully, by false billing, false classification, 
false weighing, false representation of the contents of the package, or false report of 
weight, or by any other device or means, whether with or without the consent or 
connivance of the carrier, its agent or agents, obtain transportation for such property 
at less than the regular rates then established and in force on the line of trans- 
portation, shall be deemed guilty of fraud, which is hereby declared to be a misde- 
meanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States of 
competent jurisdiction within the district in which such offense was committed, be 
subject for each offense to a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars or impris- 
onment in the penitentiary for a term of not exceeding two years, or both, in the 
discretion of the court. 

" If any such person, or any officer or agent of any such corporation or com- 
pany, shall, by payment of money or other thing of value, solicitation, or otherwise, 
induce any common carrier subject to the provisions of this act, or any of its 
officers or agents, to discriminate unjustly in his, its, or their favor as against any 
other consignor or consignee in the transportation of property, or shall aid or abet 
any common carrier in any such unjust discrimination, such person, or such officer 
or agent of such corporation or company, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and shall, upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States of competent 
jurisdiction within the district in which such offense was committed, be subject to 
a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars, or imprisonment in the penitentiary 
for a term of not exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion of the court, for 
each offense; and such person, corporation, or company shall also, together with 
said common carrier, be liable, jointly or severally, in an action on the case to be 
brought by any consignor or consignee discriminated against in any court of the 
United States of competent jurisdiction for all damages caused by or resulting 
therefrom." 



1887] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 363 

dred and eighty-seven, the term of each to be designated by the 
President ; but their successors shall be appointed for terms of 
six years, except that any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be 
appointed only for the unexpired term of the Commissioner whom 
he shall succeed. Any Commissioner may be removed by the 
President for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. 
Not more than three of the Commissioners shall be appointed from 
the same political party. No person in the employ of or holding 
any official relation to any common carrier subject to the provi- 
sions of this act, or owning stock or bonds thereof, or who is in any 
manner pecuniarily interested therein, shall enter upon the duties 
of or hold such office. Said Commissioners shall not engage in 
any other business, vocation, or employment. No vacancy in the 
Commission shall impair the right of the remaining Commissioners 
to exercise all the powers of the Commission. 

Sec. 12. That the Commission hereby created shall have author- 
ity to inquire into the management of the business of all common 
carriers subject to the provisions of this act, and shall keep itself 
informed as to the manner and method in which the same is con- 
ducted, and shall have the right to obtain from such common 
carriers full and complete information necessary to enable the 
Commission to perform the duties and carry out the objects for 
which it was created ; and for the purposes of this act the Com- 
mission shall have power to require the attendance and testimony 
of witnesses and the production of all books, papers, tariffs, con- 
tracts, agreements, and documents relating to any matter under 
investigation, and to that end may invoke the aid of any court of 
the United States in requiring the attendance and testimony of 
witnesses and the production of books, papers, and documents 
under the provisions of this section.^ 

iThe act of March 2, 1889, sec. 3, amends the last part of this section to read : 
"and the Commission is hereby authorized and required to execute and enforce 
the provisions of this act ; and, upon the request of the Commission, it shall be 
the duty of any district attorney of the United States to whom the Commission 
may apply to institute in the proper court and to prosecute, under the direction of 
the Attorney-General of the United States, all necessary proceedings for the en- 
forcement of the provisions of this act, and for the punishment of all violations 



364 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

And any of the circuit courts of the United States within the 
jurisdiction of which such inquiry is carried on may, in case of 
contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any common 
carrier subject to the provisions of this act, or other person, issue 
an order requiring such common carrier or other person to appear 
before said Commission (and produce books and papers if so or- 
dered) and give evidence touching the matter in question ; and 
any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by 
such court as a contempt thereof. The claim that any such testi- 
mony or evidence may tend to criminate the person giving such 
evidence shall not excuse such witness from testifying ; but such 
evidence or testimony shall not be used against such person on 
the trial of any criminal proceeding. 

Sec. 13. That any person, firm, corporation, or association, or 
any mercantile, agricultural, or manufacturing society, or any body 
poHtic or municipal organization complaining of anything done 
or omitted to be done by any common carrier subject to the pro- 
visions of this act in contravention of the provisions thereof, may 
apply to said Commission by petition, which shall briefly state the 
facts ; whereupon a statement of the charges thus made shall be 
forwarded by the Commission to such common carrier, who shall 
be called upon to satisfy the complaint or to answer the same in 
writing within a reasonable time, to be specified by the Commis- 
sion. If such common cairier, within the time specified, shall 



thereof; and the costs and expenses of such prosecution shall be paid out of the 
appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the United States ; and for the pur- 
poses of this act the Commission shall have power to require, by subpoena, the 
attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of all books, papers, 
tariffs, contracts, agreements, and documents relating to any matter under investi- 
gation, and in case of disobedience to a subpoena, the Commission, or any party 
to a proceeding before the Commission, may invoke the aid of any court of the 
United States in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the pro- 
duction of books, papers, and documents under the provisions of this section." 

An act of Februar>' 10, 1891, further amended the foregoing section by inserting 
after the word " investigation," the words, " Such attendance of witnesses, and the 
production of such documentary evidence, may be required from any place in the 
United States, at any designated place of hearing." Detailed provision was also 
made for taking testimony by deposition. 



iSS;] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 365 

make reparation for the injury alleged to have been done, said car- 
rier shall be relieved of liability to the complainant only for the 
particular violation of law thus complained of. If such carrier 
shall not satisfy the complaint within the time specified, or there 
shall appear to be any reasonable ground for investigating said 
complaint, it shall be the duty of the Commission to investigate 
the matters complained of in such manner and by such means as 
it shall deem proper. 

Said Commission shall in like manner investigate any complaint 
forwarded by the railroad commissioner or railroad commission of 
any State or Territory, at the request of such commissioner or 
commission, and may institute any inquiry on its own motion in 
the same manner and to the same effect as though complaint had 
been made. 

No complaint shall at any time be dismissed because of the 
absence of direct damage to the complainant. 

Sec. 14. That whenever an investigation shall be made by said 
Commission, it shall be its duty to make a report in writing in re- 
spect thereto, which shall include the findings of fact upon which 
the conclusions of the Commission are based, together with its 
recommendation as to what reparation, if any, should be made by 
the common carrier to any party or parties who may be found to 
have been injured ; and such findings so made shall thereafter, in 
all judicial proceedings, be deemed prima facie evidence as to 
each and every fact found. . . . 

Sec. 15. That if in any case in which an investigation shall be 
made by said Commission it shall be made to appear to the satis- 
faction of the Commission, either by the testimony of witnesses 
or other evidence, that anything has been done or omitted to be 
done in violation of the provisions of this act, or of any law cog- 
nizable by said Commission, by any common carrier, or that any 
injury or damage has been sustained by the party or parties com- 
plaining, or by other parties aggrieved in consequence of any such 
violation, it shall be the duty of the Commission to forthwith cause 
a copy of its report in respect thereto to be delivered to such 
common carrier, together with a notice to said common carrier 



366 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

to cease and desist from such violation, or to make reparation for 
the injury so found to have been done, or both, within a reason- 
able time, to be specified by the Commission ; and if, within the 
time specified, it shall be made to appear to the Commission that 
such common carrier has ceased from such violation of law, and 
has made reparation for the injury found to have been done, in 
comphance with the report and notice of the Commission, or to 
the satisfaction of the party complaining, a statement to that effect 
shall be entered of record by the Commission, and the said com- 
mon carrier shall thereupon be relieved from further liabihty or 
penalty for such particular violation of law. 

Sec. 16. That whenever any common carrier, as defined in and 
subject to the provisions of this act, shall violate or refuse or neg- 
lect to obey any lawful order or requirement of the Commission 
in this act named/ it shall be the duty of the Commission, and 
lawful for any company or person interested in such order or re- 
quirement, to apply, in a summary way, by petition, to the circuit 
court of the United States sitting in equity in the judicial district 
in which the common carrier complained of has its principal office, 
or in which the violation or disobedience of such order or require- 
ment shall happen, alleging such violation or disobedience, as the 
case may be ; and the said court shall have power to hear and 
determine the matter, on such short notice to the common carrier 
complained of as the court shall deem reasonable ; and such notice 
may be served on such common carrier, his or its officers, agents, 
or servants, in such manner as the court shall direct ; and said 
court shall proceed to hear and determine the matter speedily as 
a court of equity, and without the formal pleadings and proceed- 
ings applicable to ordinary suits in equity, but in such manner as 
to do justice in the premises ; and to this end such court shall 
have power, if it think fit, to direct and prosecute, in such mode 
and by such persons as it may appoint, all such inquiries as the 
court may think needful to enable it to form a just judgment in 

1 The act of March 2, 1889, sec. 5, inserts the words: " not founded upon a con- 
troversy requiring a trial by jury, as provided by the seventh amendment to the 
Constitution of the United States." 



l8S7] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 367 

the matter of such petition ; and on such hearing the report of 
said Commission ^ shall be prima facie evidence of the matters 
therein stated ; and if it be made to appear to such court, on 
such hearing or on report of any such person or persons, that 
the lawful order or requirement of said Commission drawn in ques- 
tion has been violated or disobeyed, it shall be lawful for such 
court to issue a writ of injunction or other proper process, manda- 
tory or otherwise, to restrain such common carrier from further 
continuing such violation or disobedience of such order or re- 
quirement of said Commission, and enjoining obedience to the 
same; and in case of any disobedience of any such writ of injunc- 
tion or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, it shall be 
lawful for such court to issue writs of attachment, or any other 
process of said court incident or applicable to writs of injunction 
or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, against such 
common carrier, and if a corporation, against one or more of the 
directors, officers, or agents of the same, or against any owner, 
lessee, trustee, receiver, or other person failing to obey such writ 
of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise ; 
and said court may, if it shall think fit, make an order directing 
such common carrier or other person so disobeying such writ of 
injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, to pay 
such sum of money not exceeding for each carrier or person in 
default the sum of five hundred dollars for every day after a day 
to be named in the order that such carrier or other person shall 
fail to obey such injunction or other proper process, mandatory or 
otherwise ; and such moneys shall be payable as the court shall 
direct, either to the party complaining, or into court to abide the 
ultimate decision of the court, or into the Treasury; and payment 
thereof may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovering 
the same, be enforced by attachment or order in the nature of 
a writ of execution, in like manner as if the same had been re- 
covered by a final decree in personam in such court. When the 
subject in dispute shall be of the value of two thousand dollars or 

1 Amended by act of March 2, 1889, sec. 5, to read : " the findings of fact in 
the report of said Commission," etc. 



368 INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

more, either party to such proceeding before said court may appeal 
to the Supreme Court of the United States, under the same regu- 
lations now provided by law in respect of security for such appeal ; 
but such appeal shall not operate to stay or supersede the order 
of the court or the execution of any writ or process thereon ; 
and such court may, in every such matter, order the payment of 
such costs and counsel fees as shall be deemed reasonable. 
Whenever any such petition shall be filed or presented by the 
Commission it shall be the duty of the district attorney, under 
the direction of the Attorney-General of the United States, to 
prosecute the same ; and the costs and expenses of such prosecu- 
tion shall be paid out of the appropriation for the expenses of the 
courts of the United States. For the purposes of this act, except- 
ing its penal provisions, the circuit courts of the United States 
shall be deemed to be always in session.* 

1 Section 5 of the act of March 2, 1889, inserts the following paragraph, ending 
with the last sentence of section 16 as above : " If the matters involved in any such 
order or requirement of said Commission are founded upon a controversy requiring 
a trial by jury, as provided by the seventh amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States, and any such common carrier shall violate or refuse or neglect to 
obey or perform the same, after notice given by said Commission as provided in 
the fifteenth section of this act, it shall be lawful for any company or person inter- 
ested in such order or requirement to apply in a summary way by petition to the 
circuit court of the United States sitting as a court of law in the judicial district in 
which the carrier complained of has its principal otftce, or in which the violation 
or disobedience of such order or requirement shall happen, alleging such violation 
or disobedience as the case may be ; and said court shall by its order then fix a 
time and place for the trial of said cause, which shall not be less than twenty nor 
more than forty days from the time said order is made, and it shall be the duty of 
the marshal of the district in which said proceeding is pending to forthwith serve a 
copy of said petition, and of said order, upon each of the defendants, and it shall 
be the duty of the defendants to file their answers to said petition within ten days 
after the service of the same upon them as aforesaid. At the trial [o/] the findings 
of fact of said Commission as set forth in its report shall be prima facie evidence 
of the matters therein stated, and if either party shall demand a jury or shall omit 
to waive a jury the court shall, by its order, direct the marshal forthwith to summon 
a jury to try the cause ; but if all the parties shall waive a jury in writing, then the 
court shall try the issues in said cause and render its judgment thereon. If the 
subject in dispute shall be of the value of two thousand dollars or more either 
party may appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States under the same regu- 
lations now provided by law in respect to security for such appeal ; but such appeal 



1887] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 369 

Sec. 1 7. [Procedure by and before the Commission.] 

Sec. 18. [Salaries, expenses, ofifices, &c.] 

Sec. 19. That the principal office of the Commission shall be 
in the city of Washington, where its general sessions shall be held ; 
but whenever the convenience of the public or of the parties may 
be promoted or delay or expense prevented thereby, the Commis- 
sion may hold special sessions in any part of the United States. 
It may, by one or more of the Commissioners, prosecute any in- 
quiry necessary to its duties, in any part of the United States, into 
any matter or question of fact pertaining to the business of any 
common carrier subject to the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 20. That the Commission is hereby authorized to require 
annual reports from all common carriers subject to the provisions 
of this act, to fix the time and prescribe the manner in which such 
reports shall be made, and to require from such carriers specific 
answers to all questions upon which the Commission may need 
information. Such annual reports shall show in detail the amount 
of capital stock issued, the amounts paid therefor, and the manner 
of payment for the same ; the dividends paid, the surplus fund, 
if any, and the number of stockholders ; the funded and floating 
debts and the interest paid thereon ; the cost and value of the 
carrier's property, franchises, and equipment ; the number of em- 
ployees and the salaries paid each class ; the amounts expended 
for improvements each year, how expended, and the character of 
such improvements ; the earnings and receipts from each branch 
of business and from all sources ; the operating and other ex- 
penses ; the balances of profit and loss ; and a complete exhibit 
of the financial operations of the carrier each year, including an 
annual balance-sheet. Such reports shall also contain such infor- 
mation in relation to rates or regulations concerning fares or 



must be taken within twenty days from the day of the rendition of the judgment 
of said circuit court. If the judgment of the circuit court shall be in favor of the 
party complaining, he or they shall be entitled to recover a reasonable counsel or 
attorney's fee, to be fixed by the court, which shall be collected as part of the costs 
in the case. For the purposes of this act, excepting its penal provisions, the circuit 
courts of the United States shall be deemed to be always in session." 
2B 



370, INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT [Feb. 4 

freights, or agreements, arrangements, or contracts with other 
common carriers, as the Commission may require ; and the said 
Commission may, within its discretion, for the purpose of enabUng 
it the better to carry out the purposes of this act, prescribe (if in 
the opinion of the Commission it is practicable to prescribe such 
uniformity and methods of keeping accounts) a period of time 
within which all common carriers subject to the provisions of this 
act shall have, as near as may be, a uniform system of accounts, 
and the manner in which such accounts shall be kept. 

Sec. 21. That the Commission shall, on or before the first day 
of December in each year, make a report to the Secretary of the 
Interior, which shall be by him transmitted to Congress, and copies 
of which shall be distributed as are the other reports issued from 
the Interior Department.^ This report shall contain such informa- 
tion and data collected by the Commission as may be considered 
of value in the determination of questions connected with the 
regulation of commerce, together with such recommendations as 
to additional legislation relating thereto as the Commission may 
deem necessary. 

Sec. 22. That nothing in this act shall apply to the carriage, 
storage, or handling of property free or at reduced rates for the 
United States, State, or municipal governments, or for charitable 
purposes, or to or from fairs and expositions for exhibition thereat,^ 
or the issuance of mileage, excursion, or commutation passenger 
tickets: nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit any 
common carrier from giving reduced rates to ministers of reli- 
gion ; ^ nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent railroads 



1 By act of March 2, 1889, sec. 8, it was provided that the report of the Commis- 
sion should be transmitted directly to Congress. 

2 The act of March 2, 1889, sec. 9, inserts the words, " or the free carriage of 
destitute and homeless persons transported by charitable societies, and the neces- 
sary agents employed in such transportation." 

3 The act of March 2, 1889, sec. 9, inserts the words, " or to municipal govern- 
ments for the transportation of indigent persons, or to inmates of the National 
Homes or State Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers and of Soldiers' and 
Sailors' Orphan Homes, including those about to enter and those returning home 
after discharge, under arrangements with the boards of managers of said homes." 



iSSj] INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 3/1 

from giving free carriage to their own officers and employees, or 
to prevent the principal officers of any railroad company or com- 
panies from exchanging passes or tickets with other railroad com- 
panies for their officers and employees ; and nothing in this act 
contained shall in any way abridge or alter the remedies now 
existing at common law or by statute, but the provisions of this 
act are in addition to such remedies : Provided, That no pending 
litigation shall in any way be affected by this act. 

Sec. 23. [Appropriation.] 

Sec. 24. That the provisions of sections eleven and eighteen 
of this act, relating to the appointment and organization of the 
Commission herein provided for, shall take effect immediately, and 
the remaining provisions of this act shall take effect sixty days 
after its passage.^ 

Approved, February 4, 1887. 

1 The amendatory act of March 2, 1889, adds the following : " Sec 10. That 
the circuit and district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction upon the 
relation of any person or persons, firm, or corporation, alleging such violation by a 
common carrier, of any of the provisions of the act to which this is a supplement 
and all acts amendatory thereof, as prevents the relator from having interstate traf- 
fic moved by said common carrier at the same rates as are charged, or upon terms 
or conditions as favorable as those given by said common carrier for like traffic 
under similar conditions to any other shipper, to issue a writ or writs of mandamus 
against said common carrier, commanding such common carrier to move and 
transport the traffic, or to furnish cars or other facilities for transportation for the 
party applying for the writ; Provided, That if any question of fact as to the proper 
compensation to the common carrier for the service to be enforced by the writ is 
raised by the pleadings, the writ of peremptory mandamus may issue, notwithstand- 
ing such question of fact is undetermined, upon such terms as to security, payment 
of money into the court, or otherwise, as the court may think proper, pending the 
determination of the question of fact : Provided, That the remedy hereby given by 
writ of mandamus shall be cumulative, and shall not be held to exclude or interfere 
with other remedies provided by this act or the act to which it is a supplement." 



372 ALLOTMENT OF LANDS TO INDIANS [Feb. 8 

No. 115. Allotment of Lands in Severalty to 
Indians 

February 8, 1887 

A BILL to provide for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians was 
introduced in the Senate, December 8, 1885, by Dawes of Massachusetts, and 
referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. The bill was reported Janu- 
ary 28, 1886, and February 25 passed. The bill was reported without amend- 
ment in the House April 20, but no further action was taken during the 
session. December 15 the bill was taken up, and the next day passed the 
House. The Senate disagreeing to the amendments of the House, the bill 
went to a conference committee. The report of the committee was agreed 
to by the House January 21, 1887, and by the Senate January 25. An amend- 
ing act of February 28, 1891, extended the benefits of the act and provided 
for the lease of allotments in certain cases. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIV, 388-391. For 
the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 49th Cong., ist and 2d 
Sess., and the Cong. Record. 

An act to provide for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians on the 
various reservations, and to extend the protection of the laws of the United 
States and the Territories over the Indians, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That in all cases where any tribe or band 
of Indians has been, or shall hereafter be, located upon any reser- 
vation created for their use, either by treaty stipulation or by 
virtue of an act of Congress or executive order setting apart the 
same for their use, the President of the United States be, and he 
hereby is, authorized, whenever in his opinion any reservation or 
any part thereof of such Indians is advantageous for agricultural 
and grazing purposes, to cause said reservation, or any part thereof, 
to be surveyed, or resurveyed if necessary, and to allot the lands 
in said reservation in severalty to any Indian[j-] located thereon in 
quantities as follows : 

To each head of a family, one-quarter of a section ; 

To each single person over eighteen years of age, one-eighth 
of a section ; 



1887] ALLOTMENT OF LANDS TO INDIANS 373 

To each orphan child under eighteen years of age, one-eighth 
of a section ; and 

To each other single person under eighteen years now living, 
or who may be born prior to the date of the order of the Presi- 
dent directing an allotment of the lands embraced in any reser- 
vation, one-sixteenth of a section : Provided, That in case there 
is not sufficient land in any of said reservations to allot lands to 
each individual of the classes above named in quantities as above 
provided, the lands embraced in such reservation or reservations 
shall be allotted to each individual of each of said classes pro rata 
in accordance with the provisions of this act : And provided further, 
That where the treaty or act of Congress setting apart such reser- 
vation provides for the allotment of lands in severalty in quantities 
in excess of those herein provided, the President, in making allot- 
ments upon such reservation, shall allot the lands to each individ- 
ual Indian belonging thereon in quantity as specified in such 
treaty or act : Atid provided fiwther, That when the lands allotted 
are only valuable for grazing purposes, an additional allotment of 
such grazing lands, in quantities as above provided, shall be made 
to each individual. 

Sec. 2. That all allotments set apart under the provisions of 
this act shall be selected by the Indians, heads of families select- 
ing for their minor children, and the agents shall select for each 
orphan child, and in such manner as to embrace the improve- 
ments of the Indians making the selection. Where the improve- 
ments of two or more Indians have been made on the same legal 
subdivision of land, unless they shall otherwise agree, a provisional 
line may be run dividing said lands between them, and the amount 
to which each is entitled shall be equalized in the assignment of 
the remainder of the land to which they are entitled under this 
act : Provided, That if any one entitled to an allotment shall fail 
to make a selection within four years after the President shall 
direct that allotments may be made on a particular reservation, 
the Secretary of the Interior may direct the agent of such tribe or 
band, if such there be, and if there be no agent, then a special 
agent appointed for that purpose, to make a selection for such 



374 ALLOTMENT OF LANDS TO INDIANS [Feb. 8 

Indian, which selection shall be allotted as in cases where selec- 
tions are made by the Indians, and patents shall issue in like 
manner. 

Sec. 3. [Allotments to be made by special agents and Indian 
agents, and certified to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.] 

Sec. 4. That where any Indian not residing upon a reservation, 
or for whose tribe no reservation has been provided by treaty, act 
of Congress, or executive order, shall make settlement upon any 
surveyed or unsurveyed lands of the United States not otherwise 
appropriated, he or she shall be entitled, upon application to the 
local land- office for the district in which the lands are located, to 
have the same allotted to him or her, and to his or her children, 
in quantities and manner as provided in this act for Indians resid- 
ing upon reservations ; and when such settlement is made upon 
unsurveyed lands, the grant to such Indians shall be adjusted upon 
the survey of the lands so as to conform thereto; and patents 
shall be issued to them for such lands in the manner and with the 
restrictions as herein provided. . . . 

Sec. 5. That upon the approval of the allotments provided for 
in this act by the Secretary of the Interior, he shall cause patents 
to issue therefor in the name of the allottees, which patents shall 
be of the legal eftect, and declare that the United States does and 
will hold the land thus allotted, for the period of twenty-five years, 
in trust for the sole use and benefit of the Indian to whom such 
allotment shall have been made, or, in case of his decease, of his 
heirs according to the laws of the State or Territory where such 
land is located, and that at the expiration of said period the United 
States will convey the same by patent to said Indian, or his heirs 
as aforesaid, in fee, discharged of said trust and free of all charge 
or incumbrance whatsoever : Provided, That the President of the 
United States may in any case in his discretion extend the period. 
And if any conveyance shall be made of the lands set apart and 
allotted as herein provided, or any contract made touching the 
same, before the expiration of the time above mentioned, such con- 
veyance or contract shall be absolutely null and void : Provided, 
That the law of descent and partition in force in the State or Ter- 



1 887] ALLOTMENT OF LANDS TO INDIANS 375 

ritory where such lands are situate shall apply thereto after patents 
therefor have been executed and delivered, except as herein other- 
wise provided ; and the laws of the State of Kansas regulating the 
descent and partition of real estate shall, so far as practicable, 
apply to all lands in the Indian Territory which may be allotted in 
severalty under the provisions of this act : And provided further, 
That at any time after lands have been allotted to all the Indians 
of any tribe as herein provided, or sooner if in the opinion of the 
President it shall be for the best interests of said tribe, it shall be 
lawful for the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with such 
Indian tribe for the purchase and release by said tribe, in con- 
formity with the treaty or statute under which such reservation is 
held, of such portions of its reservation not allotted as such tribe 
shall, from time to time, consent to sell, on such terms and condi- 
tions as shall be considered just and equitable between the United 
States and said tribe of Indians, which purchase shall not be com- 
plete until ratified by Congress, and the form and manner of exe- 
cuting such release shall also be prescribed by Congress : Provided 
however, That all lands adapted to agriculture, with or without 
irrigation so sold or released to the United States by any Indian 
tribe shall be held by the United States for the sole purpose of 
securing homes to actual settlers and shall be disposed of by the 
United States to actual and bona fide settlers only in tracts not 
exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to any one person, on such 
terms as Congress shall prescribe, subject to grants which Congress 
may make in aid of education: And p^vvided further, That no 
patents shall issue therefor except to the person so taking the same 
as and for a homestead, or his heirs, and after the expiration of 
five years occupancy thereof as such homestead ; and any convey- 
ance of said lands so taken as a homestead, or any contract touch- 
ing the same, or lien thereon, created prior to the date of such 
patent, shall be null and void. And the sums agreed to be paid 
by the United States as purchase money for any portion of any such 
reservation shall be held in the Treasury of the United States for 
the sole use of the tribe or tribes of Indians ; to whom such reser- 
vations belonged ; and the same, with interest thereon at three 



376 ALLOTMENT OF LANDS TO INDIANS [Feb. 8 

per cent per annum, shall be at all times subject to appropriation 
by Congress for the education and civilization of such tribe or 
tribes of Indians or the members thereof. . . . And if any reli- 
gious society or other organization is now occupying any of the 
public lands to which this act is applicable, for religious or educa- 
tional work among the Indians, the Secretary of the Interior is 
hereby authorized to confirm such occupation to such society or 
organization, in quantity not exceeding one hundred and sixty 
acres in any one tract, so long as the same shall be so occupied, 
on such terms as he shall deem just ; but nothing herein contained 
shall change or alter any claim of such society for religious or 
educational purposes heretofore granted by law. And hereafter 
in the employment of Indian police, or any other employes in the 
public service among any of the Indian tribes or bands affected 
by this act, and where Indians can perform the duties required, 
those Indians who have availed themselves of the provisions of 
this act and become citizens of the United States shall be 
preferred. 

Sec. 6. That upon the completion of said allotments and the 
patenting of the lands to said allottees, each and every member 
of the respective bands or tribes of Indians to whom allotments 
have been made shall have the benefit of and be subject to the 
laws, both civil and criminal, of the State or Territory in which 
they may reside ; and no Territory shall pass or enforce any law 
denying any such Indian within its jurisdiction the equal protec- 
tion of the law. And every Indian born within the territorial 
limits of the United States to whom allotments shall have been 
made under the provisions of this act, or under any law or treaty, 
and every Indian born within the territorial limits of the United 
States who has voluntarily taken up, within said limits, his residence 
separate and apart from any tribe of Indians therein, and has 
adopted the habits of civilized Ufe, is hereby declared to be a citi- 
zen of the United States, and is entitled to all the rights, privileges, 
and immunities of such citizens, whether said Indian has been or 
not, by birth or otherwise, a member of any tribe of Indians within 
the territorial Umits of the United States without in any manner 



18S7] REAL ESTATE IN TERRITORIES 377 

impairing or otherwise affecting the right of any such Indian to 
tribal or other property. 

Sec. 7. [The Secretary of the Interior to prescribe rules for use 
of waters for irrigation.] 

Sec. 8. That the provision of this act shall not extend to the 
territory occupied by the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chicka- 
saws, Seminoles, and Osage, Miamies and Peorias, and Sacs and 
Foxes, in the Indian Territory, nor to any of the reservations of 
the Seneca Nation of New York Indians in the State of New York, 
nor to that strip of territory in the State of Nebraska adjoining 
the Sioux Nation on the south added by executive order. 

Sec. 9. [Appropriation for surveys.] 

Sec. 10. That nothing in this act contained shall be so con- 
strued as to affect the right and power of Congress to grant the 
right of way through any lands granted to an Indian, or a tribe of 
Indians, for railroads or other highways, or telegraph lines, for the 
public use, or to condemn such lands to public uses, upon making 
just compensation. 

Sec. II. That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to 
prevent the removal of the Southern Ute Indians from their pres- 
ent reservation in Southwestern Colorado to a new reservation by 
and with the consent of a majority of the adult male members of 
said tribe. 

Approved, February 8, 1887. 



No. 116. Ownership of Real Estate in the 
Territories 

March 3, 1887 

A BILL to restrict the ownership of real estate in the Territories to Ameri- 
can citizens was introduced in the House, January 11, 1SS6, by Lewis E. 
Payson of Illinois, and referred to the Committee on Public Lands. The 
bill was not reported until July 31 ; the same day it passed the House, the 
vote being 210 to 6, 106 not voting. The Senate passed the bill with amend- 



3/8 REAL ESTATE IN TERRITORIES [March 3 

ments August 4. The House referred the amended bill, and the session 
closed witliout further action. December 9 the amendments of the Senate 
were disagreed to, and the bill went to a conference committee. The report 
of the committee was agreed to by the Senate February 26, 1S87, and by the 
House two days later. With the act should be compared the act of March 2, 
1897 (No. 12-], post). 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIV, 476, 477. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 49th Cong., ist and 2d Sess., 
and the Cong. Record. The text of the House bill is in the Record, July 
31, 1886. Various statistical exhibits regarding the ownership of land in the 
United States by aliens are to be found in the debates. 

An act to restrict the ownership of real estate in the Territories to American 
citizens, and so forth. 

Be it enacted . . ., That it shall be unlawful for any person or 
persons not citizens of the United States, or who have not lawfully 
declared their intention to become such citizens, or for any cor- 
poration not created by or under the laws of the United States or 
of some State or Territory of the United States, to hereafter 
acquire, hold, or own real estate so hereafter acquired, or any 
interest therein, in any of the Territories of the United States or 
in the District of Columbia, except such as may be acquired by 
inheritance or in good faith in the ordinary course of justice in 
the collection of debts heretofore created : Provided, That the 
prohibition of this section shall not apply to cases in which the 
right to hold or dispose of lands in the United States is secured 
by existing treaties to the citizens or subjects of foreign countries, 
which rights, so far as they may exist by force of any such treaty 
shall continue to exist so long as such treaties are in force, and no 
longer. 

Sec. 2. That no corporation or association more than twenty 
per centum of the stock of which is or may be owned by any per- 
son or persons, corporation or corporations, association or asso- 
ciations, not citizens of the United States, shall hereafter acquire 
or hold or own any real estate hereafter acquired in any of the 
Territories of the United States or of the District of Columbia. 

Sec. 3. That no corporation other than those organized for the 
construction or operation of railways, canals, or turnpikes shall 



1887] RETIREMENT OF THE TRADE DOLLAR 379 

acquire, hold, or own more than five thousand acres of land in 
any of the Territories of the United States ; and no railroad, 
canal, or turnpike corporation shall hereafter acquire, hold, or 
own lands in any Territory, other than as may be necessary for 
the proper operation of its railroad, canal, or turnpike, except 
such lands as may have been granted to it by act of Congress. 
But the prohibition of this section shall not affect the title to any 
lands now lawfully held by any such corporation. 

Sec. 4. That all property acquired, held, or owned in violation 
of the provisions of this act shall be forfeited to the United States, 
and it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to enforce every 
such forfeiture by bill in equity or other proper process. And in 
any suit or proceeding that may be commenced to enforce the 
provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of the court to deter- 
mine the very right of the matter without regard to matters of 
form, joinder of parties, multifariousness, or other matters not 
affecting the substantial rights either of the United States or of 
the parties concerned in any such proceeding arising out of the 
matters in this act mentioned. 

Approved, March 3, 1887. 



No. 117. Retirement of the Trade Dollar 

March 3, 1887 

A BILL for the retirement and re-coinage of the trade dollar, whose legal 
tender character had been taken away by the act of July 22, 1876 [No. 
100], was introduced in the Senate, December 8, 1885, by John L Mitchell of 
Pennsylvania, and referred to the Committee on Finance, in whose hands it 
remained throughout the session. December 14, 1886, the bill was reported 
with amendments, and on the 17th passed the Senate. The House referred 
the bill to the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures, which reported 
it, January 15, 1887, without amendment. February 12 a substitute offered 
by Samuel W. T. Lanham of Texas was agreed to, and the bill passed, the 
final vote being 174 to 36. The bill received its final form from a conference 
committee. The report of the committee was agreed to February 19, in the 



380 ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT [March 3 

Senate by a vote of 49 to 5, and in the House without a division. The bill 
became law without the approval of the President. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIV, 634, 635. For the 
proceedings see the House ajid Senate Journals, 49th Cong., ist and 2d Sess., 
and the Cong. Record. The report submitted in the House January 15, 1887, 
is House Report 3616, 49th Cong., 2d Sess. 

An act for the retirement and recoinage of the trade-dollar. 

Be it enacted . . ., That for a period of six months after the 
passage of this act, United States trade- dollars, if not defaced, 
mutilated, or stamped, shall be received at the office of the 
Treasurer, or any assistant treasurer of the United States in 
exchange for a like amount, dollar for dollar, of standard silver 
dollars, or of subsidiary coins of the United States. 

Sec. 2. That the trade-dollars received by, paid to, or deposited 
with the Treasurer or any assistant treasurer or national depositary 
of the United States shall not be paid out or in any other man- 
ner issued, but, at the expense of the United States, shall be 
transmitted to the coinage mints and recoined into standard silver 
dollars or subsidiary coin, at the discretion of the Secretary of 
the Treasury : Provided, That the trade-dollars recoined under 
this act shall not be counted as part of the silver bullion required 
to be purchased and coined into standard dollars as required by 
the act of February twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
eight. 

Sec. 3. That all laws and parts of laws authorizing the coinage 
and issuance of United States trade-dollars are hereby repealed. 



No. 118. Anti-Polygamy Act 

March 3, 1887 

In his annual message of December 8, 1885, President Cleveland called 
attention to the continued spread of Mormonism and polygamy, and the need 
of further legislation. On the same day a bill to amend the act of March 22, 
1882 [No. 105], was introduced in the Senate by Edmunds of Vermont. On 



iS87] ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT 38 1 

the 2ist the Committee on the Judiciary reported the bill without amendment. 
January 8, 1886, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 38 to 7. A substitute 
was reported in the House January 12, 1886, and the bill placed on the 
calendar, where it remained for the rest of the session. January 12, 1887, 
the amended bill passed the House. The Senate refused to concur in the 
House amendments, and the bill was given its final form by a conference 
committee. The report of the committee was agreed to by the House, 
P'ebruary 17, by a vote of 203 to 40, 75 not voting, and by the Senate on the 
iSth by a vote of 37 to 13. The bill became law under the ten days rule. 
The principal debate was over the sections dissolving the incorporation of the 
Mormon Church and denying the elective franchise to women. A joint reso- 
lution of October 25, 1893, directed the restoration to the church of the per- 
sonal property and money of the corporation then in the hands of a receiver, 
" to be applied under the direction and control of the first presidency of said 
church to the charitable uses and purposes thereof, that is to say, for the pay- 
ment of the debts for which said church is legally or equitably liable, for the 
relief of the poor and distressed members of said church, for the education of 
the children of such members, and for the building and repair of houses of 
worship for the use of said church, but in which the rightfulness of the prac- 
tice of polygamy shall not be inculcated." 

References. — Texi in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIV, 635-641. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 49th Cong., ist and 2d Bess., 
and the Cong. Record. The text of the Senate bill of January 8, 1886, is in 
the Record, January 12, 1887, House proceedings, where is also the text of the 
substitute reported in the House June 10. See House Reports 2^68 and 2-/JJ, 
49th Cong., 1st Sess. ; House Report ^j^, 50th Cong., 1st Sess. ; Senate Exec. 
Doc. 21, 50th Cong., 2d Sess. On the constitutionality of the act see Romney 
V. United States, 136 U.S. Reports, i ; Mormon Church v. United States, 140 
ibid., 665 ; United States v. Mormon Church, 150 ibid., 145. 

An act to amend an act entitled " An act to amend section fifty-three hundred 
and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes of the United States, in reference to 
bigamy, and for other purposes," approved March twenty-second, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-two. 

[Sections 1-5 relate to testimony, witnesses and process in 
prosecutions for polygamy, and the punishment of adultery and 
other crimes.] 

Sec. 6. That all laws of the legislative assembly of the Territory 
of Utah which provide that prosecutions for adultery can only be 
commenced on the complaint of the husband or wife are hereby 
disapproved and annulled ; and all prosecutions for adultery may 



382 ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT [March 3 

hereafter be instituted in the same way that prosecutions for other 
crimes are. 

Sec. 7. That commissioners appointed by the supreme court 
and district courts in the Territory of Utah shall possess and may 
exercise all the powers and jurisdiction that are or may be pos- 
sessed or exercised by justices of the peace in said Territory 
under the laws thereof, and the same powers conferred by law 
on commissoners appointed by circuit courts of the United States. 

Sec. 8. That the marshal of said Territory of Utah, and his 
deputies, shall possess and may exercise all the powers in execut- 
ing the laws of the United States or of said Territory, possessed 
and exercised by sherififs, constables, and their deputies as peace 
officers; and each of them shall cause all offenders against the 
law, in his view, to enter into recognizance to keep the peace 
and to appear at the next term of the court having jurisdiction 
of the case, and to commit to jail in case of failure to give such 
recognizance. They shall quell and suppress assaults and batteries, 
riots, routs, affrays, and insurrections. 

Sec. 9. That every ceremony of marriage, or in the nature of 
a marriage ceremony, of any kind, in any of the Territories of 
the United States, whether either or both or more of the parties 
to such ceremony be lawfully competent to be the subjects of 
such marriage or ceremony or not, shall be certified by a certifi- 
cate stating the fact and nature of such ceremony, the full names 
of each of the parties concerned, and the full name of every 
officer, priest, and person, by whatever style or designation called 
or known, in any way taking part in the performance of such 
ceremony, which certificate shall be drawn up and signed by the 
parties to such ceremony and by every officer, priest, and person 
taking part in the performance of such ceremony, and shall be by 
the officer, priest, or other person solemnizing such marriage or 
ceremony filed in the office of the probate court, or, if there be 
none, in the office of court having probate powers in the county 
or district in which such ceremony shall take place, for record, 
and shall be immediately recorded, and be at all times subject 
to inspection as other public records. Such certificate, or the 



1887] ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT 383 

record thereof, or a duly certified copy of such record, shall be 
prima facie evidence of the facts required by this act to be stated 
therein, in any proceeding, civil or criminal, in which the matter 
shall be drawn in question. [Punishment for violation.] 

Sec. 10. That nothing in this act shall be held to prevent the 
proof of marriages, whether lawful or unlawful, by any evidence 
now legally admissible for that purpose. 

Sec. II. That the laws enacted by the legislative assembly of 
the Territory of Utah which provide for or recognize the capacity 
of illegitimate children to inherit or to be entitled to any distrib- 
utive share in the estate of the father of any such illegitimate 
child are hereby disapproved and annulled ; and no illegitimate 
child shall hereafter be entitled to inherit from his or her father 
or to receive any distributive share in the estate of his or her 
father : Provided, That this section shall not apply to any illegiti- 
mate child born within twelve months after the passage of this 
act, nor to any child made legitimate by the seventh section of 
the act . . . [of March 22, 1882]. 

Sec. 12. That the laws enacted by the legislative assembly of 
the Territory of Utah conferring jurisdiction upon probate courts, 
or the judges thereof, or any of them, in said Territory, other 
than in respect of the estates of deceased persons, and in respect 
of the guardianship of the persons and property of infants, and 
in respect of the persons and property of persons not of sound 
mind, are hereby disapproved and annulled ; and no probate 
court or judge of probate shall exercise any jurisdiction other 
than in respect of the matters aforesaid, except as a member of 
a county court ; and every such jurisdiction so by force of this 
act withdrawn from the said probate courts or judges shall be had 
and exercised by the district courts of said Territory respectively. 

Sec. 13. That it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General of 
the United States to institute and prosecute proceedings to forfeit 
and escheat to the United States the property of corporations 
obtained or held in violation of section three of the act of . . . 
[July I, 1862] ... or in violation of section eighteen hundred 
and ninety of the Revised Statutes of the United States ; and 



384 ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT [March 3 

all such property so forfeited and escheated to the United States 
shall be disposed of by the Secretary of the Interior, and the 
proceeds thereof applied to the use and benefit of the common 
schools in the Territory in which such property may be : Provided, 
That no building, or the grounds appurtenant thereto, which is 
held and occupied exclusively for purposes of the worship of 
God, or parsonage connected therewith, or burial ground shall 
be forfeited. 

Sec. 14. That in any proceeding for the enforcement of the 
provisions of law against corporations or associations acquiring or 
holding property in any Territory of the United States in excess 
of the amount limited by law, the court before which such pro- 
ceeding may be instituted shall have power in a summary way to 
compel the production of all books, records, papers, and docu- 
ments of or belonging to any trustee or person holding or con- 
trolling or managing property in which such corporation may have 
any right, title, or interest whatever. 

Sec. 15. That all laws of the legislative assembly of the 
Territory of Utah, or of the so-called government of the State 
of Deseret, creating, organizing, amending, or continuing the 
corporation or association called the Perpetual Emigrating Fund 
Company are hereby disapproved and annulled ; and the said 
corporation, in so far as it may now have, or pretend to have, 
any legal existence, is hereby dissolved ; and it shall not be law- 
ful for the legislative assembly of the Territory of Utah to create, 
organize, or in any manner recognize any such corporation or 
association, or to pass any law for the purpose of or operating 
to accomplish the bringing of persons into the said Territory 
for any purpose whatsoever. 

Sec. 16. That it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General of 
the United States to cause such proceedings to be taken in the 
supreme court of the Territory of Utah as shall be proper to 
carry into effect the provisions of the preceding section, and pay 
the debts and to dispose of the property and assets of said cor- 
poration according to law. Said property and assets, in excess 
of the debts and the amount of any lawful claims established by 



1887] ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT 385 

the court against the same, shall escheat to the United States, 
and shall be taken, invested, and disposed of by the Secretary 
of the Interior, under the direction of the President of the United 
States, for the benefit of common schools in said Territory. 

Sec. 17. That the acts of the legislative assembly of the Terri- 
tory of Utah incorporating, continuing, or providing for the cor- 
poration known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day 
Saints, and the ordinance of the so-called general assembly of 
the State of Deseret incorporating the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-Day Saints, so far as the same may now have legal force 
and validity, are hereby disapproved and annulled, and the said 
corporation, in so far as it may now have, or pretend to have, 
any legal existence, is hereby dissolved. That it shall be the 
duty of the Attorney-General of the United States to cause such 
proceedings to be taken in the supreme court of the Territory 
of Utah as shall be proper to execute the foregoing provisions 
of this section and to wind up the affairs of said corporation 
conformably to law; and in such proceedings the court shall 
have power, and it shall be its duty, to make such decree or 
decrees as shall be proper to effectuate the transfer of the title 
to real property now held and used by said corporation for 
places of worship, and parsonages connected therewith, and burial 
grounds, and of the description mentioned in the proviso to sec- 
tion thirteen of this act and in section twenty-six of this act, to 
the respective trustees mentioned in section twenty-six of this 
act ; and for the purposes of this section said court shall have 
all the powers of a court of equity. 

Sec. 18. [Rights of widows in real estate.] 

Sec. 19. That hereafter the judge of probate in each county 
within the Territory of Utah provided for by the existing laws 
thereof shall be appointed by the President of the United States, 
bv and with the advice and consent of the Senate ; and so much 
of the laws of said Territory as provide for the election of such 
ju<lge by the legislative assembly are hereby disapproved and 
annulled. 

Sec. 20. That it shall not be lawful for any female to vote at 

2C 



386 ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT [March 3 

any election hereafter held in the Territory of Utah for any public 
purpose whatever, and no such vote shall be received or counted 
or given effect in any manner whatever ; and any and every act 
of the legislative assembly of the Territory of Utah providing for 
or allowing the registration or voting by females is hereby annulled. 

Sec. 21. That all laws of the legislative assembly of the Terri- 
tory of Utah which provide for numbering or identifying the votes 
of the electors at any election in said Territory are hereby dis- 
approved and annulled ; but the foregoing provision shall not pre- 
clude the lawful registration of voters, or any other provisions for 
securing fair elections which do not involve the disclosure of the 
candidates for whom any particular elector shall have voted. 

Sec. 22. That the existing election districts and apportion- 
ments of representation concerning the members of the legis- 
lative assembly of the Territory of Utah are hereby abolished ; 
and it shall be the duty of the governor, Territorial secretary, and 
the Board of Commissioners mentioned in section nine of the act 
of . . . [March 22, 1882] . . ., in said Territory, forthwith to 
redistrict said Territory, and apportion representation in the 
same in such manner as to provide, as nearly as may be, for an 
equal representation of the people (excepting Indians not taxed), 
being citizens of the United States, according to numbers, in said 
legislative assembly, and to the number of members of the coun- 
cil and house of representatives, respectively, as now established 
by law ; and a record of the establishment of such new districts 
and the apportionment of representation thereto shall be made 
in the ofifice of the secretary of said Territory, and such establish- 
ment and representation shall continue until Congress shall other- 
wise provide ; and no persons other than citizens of the United 
States otherwise quahfied shall be entitled to vote at any election 
in said Territory. 

Sec. 23. That the provisions of section nine of said act ap- 
proved March twenty-second, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, 
in regard to registration and election officers, and the registration 
of voters, and the conduct of elections, and the powers and duties 
of the Board therein mentioned, shall continue and remain opera- 



i887] ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT 387 

tive until the provisions and laws therein referred to to be made 
and enacted by the legislative assembly of said Territory of Utah 
shall have been made and enacted by said assembly and shall have 
been approved by Congress. 

Sec. 24. That every male person twenty-one years of age resi- 
dent in the Territory of Utah shall, as a condition precedent to 
his right to register or vote at any election in said Territory, take 
and subscribe an oath or affirmation, before the registration officer 
of his voting precinct, that he is over twenty-one years of age, 
and has resided in the Territory of Utah for six months then last 
passed and in the precinct for one month immediately preceding 
the date thereof, and that he is a native-born (or naturalized, as 
the case may be) citizen of the United States, and further state 
in such oath or affirmation his full name, with his age, place of 
business, his status, whether single or married, and, if married, 
the name of his lawful wife, and that he will support the Consti- 
tution of the United States and will faithfully obey the laws 
thereof, and especially will obey the act . . . [of March 22, 
18S2] . . ., and will also obey this act in respect of the crimes 
in said act defined and forbidden, and that he will not, directly or 
indirectly, aid or abet, counsel or advise, any other person to com- 
mit any of said crimes. Such registration officer is authorized to 
administer said oath or affirmation ; and all such oaths or affirma- 
tions shall be by him delivered to the clerk of the probate court 
of the proper county, and shall be deemed public records therein. 
But if any election shall occur in said Territory before the next 
revision of the registration lists as required by law, the said oath 
or affirmation shall be administered by the presiding judge of the 
election precinct on or before the day of election. As a condi- 
tion precedent to the right to hold office in or under said Terri- 
tory, the officer, before entering on the duties of his office, shall 
take and subscribe an oath or affirmation declaring his full name, 
with his age, place of business, his status, whether married or sin- 
gle, and, if married, the name of his lawful wife, and that he will 
support the Constitution of the United States and will faithfully 
obey the laws thereof, and especially will obey the act . . . [of 



388 ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT [March 3 

March 22, 1882] . . ., and will also obey this act in respect of 
the crimes in said act defined and forbidden, and that he will not, 
directly or indirectly, aid or abet, counsel or advise, any other 
person to commit any of said crimes ; which oath or affirmation 
shall be recorded in the proper office and indorsed on the com- 
mission or certificate of appointment. All grand and petit jurors 
in said Territory shall take the same oath or affirmation, to be 
administered, in writing or orally, in the proper court. No per- 
son shall be entitled to vote in any election in said Territory, or 
be capable of jury service, or hold any office of trust or emolu- 
ment in said Territory who shall not have taken the oath or affir- 
mation aforesaid. No person who shall have been convicted of 
any crime under this act, or under the act of Congress aforesaid 
approved March twenty-second, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, 
or who shall be a polygamist, or who shall associate or cohabit 
polygamously with persons of the other sex, shall be entitled to 
vote in any election in said Territory, or be capable of jury ser- 
vice, or to hold any office of trust or emolument in said Territory. 
Sec. 25. That the office of Territorial superintendent of dis- 
trict schools created by the laws of Utah is hereby abolished ; 
and it shall be the duty of the supreme court of said Territory 
to appoint a commissioner of schools, who shall possess and exer- 
cise all the powers and duties heretofore imposed by the laws 
of said Territory upon the Territorial superintendent of district 
schools, and who shall receive the same salary and compensa- 
tion, which shall be paid out of the treasury of said Territory ; 
and the laws of the Territory of Utah providing for the method 
of election and appointment of such Territorial superintendent of 
district schools are hereby suspended until the further action of 
Congress shall be had in respect thereto. The said superinten- 
dent shall have power to prohibit the use in any district school 
of any book of a sectarian character or otherwise unsuitable. Said 
superintendent shall collect and classify statistics and other infor- 
mation respecting the district and other schools in said Territory, 
showing their progress, the whole number of children of school 
age, the number who attend school in each year in the respective 



1887] CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT 389 

counties, the average length of time of their attendance, the num- 
ber of teachers and the compensation paid to the same, the num- 
ber of teachers who are Mormons, the number who are so-called 
gentiles, the number of children of Mormon parents and the num- 
ber of children of so-called gentile parents, and their respective 
average attendance at school ; all of which statistics and informa- 
tion shall be annually reported to Congress, through the governor 
of said Territory and the Department of the Interior. 

Sec. 26. That all religious societies, sects, and congregations 
shall have the right to have and to hold, through trustees ap- 
pointed by any court exercising probate powers in a Territory, 
only on the nomination of the authorities of such society, sect, or 
congregation, so much real property for the erection or use of 
houses of worship, and for such parsonages and burial grounds 
as shall be necessary for the convenience and use of the several 
congregations of such religious society, sect, or congregation. 

Sec. 27. That all laws passed by the so-called State of Deseret 
and by the legislative assembly of the Territory of Utah for the 
organization of the militia thereof or for the creation of the Nauvoo 
Legion are hereby annulled, and declared of no effect ; and the 
militia of Utah shall be organized and subjected in all respects 
to the laws of the United States regulating the militia in the Ter- 
ritories : Provided, however, That all general officers of the militia 
shall be appointed by the governor of the Territory, by and with 
the advice and consent of the council thereof. The legislative 
assembly of Utah shall have power to pass laws for organizing the 
militia thereof, subject to the approval of Congress. 



No. 119. Chinese Exclusion Act 

September 13, 1888 

A BILL prohibiting for twenty years the immigration of Chinese laborers, 
based upon a provision of the treaty of November 27, 1880, between the 
United States and China, was vetoed by President Arthur April 4, 1882. 



390 CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT [Sept. 13 

Thereupon Congress passed the exclusion act of May 6, 1882 [No. 107], pro- 
hibiting immigration for ten years. By a treaty concluded March 12, 1888, 
the coming of Chinese laborers to this country was prohibited for twenty 
years, but amendments proposed by the Senate, May 7, delayed ratification. 
A bill to exclude Chinese laborers without limit of time was reported in the 
Senate, July n, 1888, by Joseph N. Dolph of Oregon, from the Committee on 
Foreign Relations, and passed the Senate August 8. The bill was sub- 
stantially the same as a bill reported by the House Committee on Foreign 
Affairs June 23. The Senate bill was reported in the House, August 18, with 
an amendment, and on the 20th passed. An act of May 5, 1892, continued 
in force for ten years all laws regulating or prohibiting the immigration of 
Chinese, provided for the removal of Chinese illegally in the United States, 
required Chinese arrested under the acts to prove lawful residence, denied 
bail in habeas corpus proceedings, and required all Chinese entitled to remain 
in the United States to be registered with the collector of internal revenue of 
the district in which they claimed residence. An act of November 3, 1893, 
made further provisions for the registration of Chinese already within the 
United States. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXV, 476-479. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 50th Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. There was no debate in the Senate. See Senate Exec. Docs. 
2yi, 272, 27^, House Report 2727, and the proclamation of March 17, 1894. 
The House and Senate votes on various Chinese immigration bills from 1879 
are in the Record, August 18, House proceedings. See also House Report fo, 
53d Cong., 1st Sess.; Senate Report 776, 57th Cong., 1st Sess. 

An act to prohibit the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States. 

Be it enacted . . ., That from and after the date of the ex- 
change of ratifications of the pending treaty between the United 
States of America and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of 
China, signed on the twelfth day of March, anno Domini eighteen 
hundred and eighty-eight, it shall be unlawful for any Chinese 
person, whether a subject of China or of any other power, to enter 
the United States, except as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 2. That Chinese officials, teachers, students, merchants,^ 

lAn act of November 3, 1893, section 2, contains the following provisions: 
" The term ' merchant," as employed herein and in the acts of which this is amend- 
atory, shall have the following meaning and none other : A merchant is a person 
engaged in buying and selling merchandise, at a fixed place of business, which 
business is conducted in his name, and who during the time he claims to be 



i888] CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT 39 1 

or travelers for pleasure or curiosity, shall be permitted to enter 
the United States, but in order to entitle themselves to do so, they 
shall first obtain the permission of the Chinese Government, or 
other Government of which they may at the time be citizens or 
subjects. Such permission and also their personal identity shall 
in such case be evidenced by a certificate to be made out by 
the diplomatic representative of the United States in the country, 
or of the consular representative of the United States at the port 
or place from which the person named therein comes. . . . 

Sec. 3. That the provisions of this act shall apply to all persons 
of the Chinese race, whether subjects of China or other foreign 
power, excepting Chinese diplomatic or consular officers and their 
attendants; and the words "Chinese laborers," whenever used in 
this act, shall be construed to mean both skilled and unskilled 
laborers and Chinese employed in mining.^ 

Sec. 4. That the master of any vessel arriving in the United 
States from any foreign port or place with any Chinese passengers 
on board shall, when he delivers his manifest of cargo, and if 
there be no cargo, when he makes legal entry of his vessel, and 
before landing or permitting to land any Chinese person (unless 
a diplomatic or consular officer, or attendant of such officer), 
deliver to the collector of customs of the district in which the ves- 
sel shall have arrived the sealed certificates and letters as afore- 
said, and a separate hst of all Chinese persons taken on board of 

engaged as a merchant, does not engage in the performance of any manual labor, 
except such as is necessary in the conduct of his business as such merchant. 

" Where an application is made by a Chinaman for entrance into the United 
States on the ground that he was formerly engaged in this country as a merchant, 
he shall establish by the testimony of two credible witnesses other than Chinese the 
fact that he conducted such business as hereinbefore defined for at least one year 
before his departure from the United States, and that during such year he was not 
engaged in the performance of any manual labor, except such as was necessary in 
the conduct of his business as such merchant, and in default of such proof shall be 
refused landing." 

1 The act of November 3, 1893, section 2, defined the words " laborer " or 
"laborers "as meaning "both skilled and unskilled manual laborers, including 
Chinese employed in mining, fishing, huckstering, peddling, laundrymen, or those 
engaged in taking, diying, or otherwise preserving shell or other fish for home con- 
sumption or exportation." 



392 CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT [Sept. 13 

his vessel at any foreign port or place, and of all such persons on 
board at the time of arrival as aforesaid. . . . 

The master of any vessel as aforesaid shall not permit any 
Chinese diplomatic or consular officer or attendant of such officer 
to land without having first been informed by the collector of 
customs of the official character of such officer or attendant. . . . 

Sec. 5. That from and after the passage of this act, no Chinese 
laborer in the United States shall be permitted, after having left, 
to return thereto, except under the conditions stated in the follow- 
ing sections. 

Sec. 6. That no Chinese laborer within the purview of the pre- 
ceding section shall be permitted to return to the United States 
unless he has a lawful wife, child, or parent in the United States, 
or property therein of the value of one thousand dollars, or debts 
of hke amount due him and pending settlement. The marriage 
to such wife must have taken place at least a jear prior to the 
apphcation of the laborer for a permit to return to the United 
States, and must have been followed by the continuous cohabita- 
tion of the parties as man and wife. 

If the right to return be claimed on the ground of property or 
of debts, it must appear that the property is bona fide and not 
colorably acquired for the purpose of evading this act, or that the 
debts are unascertained and unsettled, and not promissory notes 
or other similar acknowledgments of ascertained liability. 

Sec. 7. That a Chinese person claiming the right to be per- 
mitted to leave the United States and return thereto on any of the 
grounds stated in the foregoing section, shall apply to the col- 
lector of customs of the district from which he wishes to depart 
at least a month prior to the time of his departure, and shall make 
on oath before the said collector a full statement descriptive of 
his family, or property, or debts, as the case may be, and shall fur- 
nish to said collector such proofs of the facts entitling him to 
return as shall be required by the rules and regulations prescribed 
from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury, and for any 
false swearing in relation thereto he shall incur the penalties of 
perjury. He shall also permit the collector to take a full descrip- 



iSSS] CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT 393 

tion of his person, which description the collector shall retain 
and mark with a number. And if the collector, after hearing 
the proofs and investigating all the circumstances of the case, 
shall decide to issue a certificate of return, he shall at such time 
and place as he may designate, sign and give to the person apply- 
ing a certificate containing the number of the description last 
aforesaid, which shall be the sole evidence given to such person of 
his right to return. If this last named certificate be transferred, 
it shall become void, and the person to whom it was given shall 
forfeit his right to return to the United States. The right to 
return under the said certificate shall be limited to one year ; but 
it may be extended for an additional period, not to exceed a year, 
in cases where, by reason of sickness or other cause of disability 
beyond his control, the holder thereof shall be rendered unable 
sooner to return, which facts shall be fully reported to and inves- 
tigated by the consular representative of the United States at the 
port or place from which such laborer departs for the United 
States, and certified by such representative of the United States to 
the satisfaction of the collector of customs at the port where such 
Chinese person shall seek to land in the United States, such cer- 
tificate to be delivered by said representative to the master of the 
vessel on which he departs for the United States. And no Chinese 
laborer shall be permitted to re-enter the United States without 
producing to the proper officer of the customs at the port of such 
entry the return certificate herein required. A Chinese laborer 
possessing a certificate under this section shall be admitted to the 
United States only at the port from which he departed therefrom, 
and no Chinese person, except Chinese diplomatic or consular 
officers, and their attendants, shall be permitted to enter the 
United States except at the ports of San Francisco, Portland, 
Oregon, Boston, New York, New Orleans, Port Townsend, or such 
other ports as may be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

[Sections 8-12 prescribe administrative regulations, penalties, 
&c.] 

Sec. 13. That any Chinese person, or person of Chinese de- 
scent, found unlawfully in the United States, or its Territories, may 



394 CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT [Sept. 13 

be arrested upon a warrant issued upon a complaint, under oath, 
filed by any party on behalf of the United States, by any justice, 
judge, or commissioner of any United States court, returnable 
before any justice, judge, or commissioner of a United States 
court, or before any United States court, and when convicted, 
upon a hearing, and found and adjudged to be one not lawfully 
entitled to be or remain in the United States, such person shall be 
removed from the United States to the country whence he came. 
But any such Chinese person convicted before a commissioner of 
a United States court may, within ten days from such conviction, 
appeal to the judge of the district court for the district. A cer- 
tified copy of the judgment shall be the process upon which said 
removal shall be made, and it may be executed by the marshal of 
the district, or any officer having authority of a marshal under the 
provisions of this section. And in all such cases the person who 
brought or aided in bringing such person into the United States 
shall be liable to the Government of the United States for all nec- 
essary expenses incurred in such investigation and removal ; and 
all peace officers of the several States and Territories of the 
United States are hereby invested with the same authority in 
reference to caixying out the provisions of this act, as a marshal or 
deputy marshal of the United States, and shall be entitled to like 
compensation, to be audited and paid by the same officers. 

Sec. 14. That the preceding sections shall not apply to Chinese 
diplomatic or consular officers or their attendants, who shall be 
admitted to the United States under special instructions of the 
Treasury Department, without production of other evidence than 
that of personal identity. 

Sec. 15. That the act entitled "An act to execute certain 
treat}' stipulations relating to Chinese," approved May sixth, eigh- 
teen hundred and eighty-two, and an act to amend said act ap- 
proved July fifth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, are hereby 
repealed to take effect upon the ratification of the pending treaty 
as provided in section one of this act. 

Approved, September 13, 18S8. 



1890] ANTI-TRUST ACT 395 

No. 120. Anti-Trust Act 

July 2, 1890 

Several bills for the regulation of trusts came before Congress during the 
session of 1888-1889, but none got beyond the stage of discussion. A bill 
" to declare unlawful trusts and combinations in restraint of trade and pro- 
duction" was introduced in the Senate, December 4, 1889, by Sherman, and 
referred to the Committee on Finance, which reported it with amendments 
January 14, 1890. The bill was taken up Feljruary 27 and debated until 
March 27, when it was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary with in- 
structions to report within twenty days. A substitute was reported April 2, 
and on the 8th passed the Senate with amendments. The House amended 
the bill so as to make unlawful " every contract or agreement entered into 
for the purpose of preventing competition in the sale or purchase of a com- 
modity transported from one State to be sold in another." The Senate added 
further amendments, to which the House disagreed, and the bill went to a 
conference committee, which recommended that each house recede from its 
amendments. The acceptance of the report resulted in the passage of the 
Senate bill. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXVI, 209, 210. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 51st Cong., ist Sess., and 
the Cong. Record. The text of Sherman's original bill is in the Record, Feb- 
ruary 27. The report of the House Committee on the Judiciary, April 25, 
is House Report ijoj ; for an earlier report on the investigation of trusts see 
House Report 31 12, 50th Cong., ist Sess. For decisions under the act to 
1897 see Gould and Tucker, Notes on the Revised Statutes, II, 622, 623. 

An act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and 
monopolies. 

Be it enacted . . ., 

Sec. I. Every contract, combination in the form of trust or 
otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce 
among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby de- 
clared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any stich 
contract or engage in any such combination or conspiracy, shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, 
shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, 
or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said 
punishments, in the discretion of the court. 



396 ANTI-TRUST ACT [July 2 

Sec. 2. Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to 
monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or 
persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among 
the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty 
of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be pmiished 
by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment 
not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the 
discretion of the court. 

Sec. 3. Every contract, combination in form of trust or other- 
wise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce in any 
Territory of the United States or of the District of Columbia, or 
in restraint of trade or commerce between any such Territory 
and another, or between any such Territory or Territories and 
any State or States or the District of Columbia, or with foreign 
nations, or between the District of Columbia and any State 
or States or foreign nations, is hereby declared illegal. Every 
person who shall make any such contract or engage in any 
such combination or conspiracy, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by 
fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not 
exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discre- 
tion of the court. 

Sec. 4. The several circuit courts of the United States are 
hereby invested with jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations 
of this act ; and it shall be the duty of the several district attor- 
neys of the United States, in their respective districts, under the 
direction of the Attorney-General, to institute proceedings in 
equity to prevent and restrain such violations. Such proceed- 
ings may be by way of petition setting forth the case and praying 
that such violation shall be enjoined or otherwise prohibited. 
When the parties complained of shall have been duly notified of 
such petition the court shall proceed, as soon as may be, to the 
hearing and determination of the case ; and pending such petition 
and before final decree, the court may at any time make such 
temporary restraining order or prohibition as shall be deemed 
just in the premises. 



1890] SILVER PURCHASE ACT 397 

Sec. 5. Whenever it shall appear to the court before which 
any proceeding under section four of this act may be pending, 
that the ends of justice require that other parties should be 
brought before the court, the court may cause them to be sum- 
moned, whether they reside in the district in which the court is 
held or not ; and subpoenas to that end may be served in any 
district by the marshal thereof. 

Sec. 6. Any property owned under any contract or by any 
combination, or pursuant to any conspiracy (and being the sub- 
ject thereof) mentioned in section one of this act, and being in 
the course of transportation from one State to another, or to a 
foreign country, shall be forfeited to the United States, and may 
be seized and condemned by like proceedings as those provided 
by law for the forfeiture, seizure, and condemnation of property 
imported into the United States contrary to law. 

Sec. 7. Any person who shall be injured in his business or 
property by any other person or corporation by reason of any- 
thing forbidden or declared to be unlawful by this act, may sue 
therefor in any circuit court of the United States in the district 
in which the defendant resides or is found, without respect to the 
amount in controversy, and shall recover three fold the damages 
by him sustained, and the costs of suit, including a reasonable 
attorney's fee. 

Sec. 8. That the word " person," or '* persons," wherever used 
in this act shall be deemed to include corporations and associa- 
tions existing under or authorized by the laws of either the United 
States, the laws of any of the Territories, the laws of any State, 
or the laws of any foreign country. 

Approved, July 2, 1890. 

No. 12 1. Silver Purchase Act 

July 14, 1890 

In his annual message of December 3, 1889, President Harrison called 
attention to the decHne in the market price of silver, and expressed fear of the 
effect of a further decline on the value of gold and silver dollars in com- 



398 SILVER PURCHASE ACT [July 14 

mercial transactions. The accompanying report of the Secretary of the 
Treasury proposed the issue of treasury notes " against deposits of silver 
bullion at the market price of silver when deposited, payable on demand in 
such quantities of silver bullion as will equal in value, at the date of presenta- 
tion, the number of dollars expressed on the face of the notes at the market 
price of silver, or in gold, at the option of the Government, or in silver dollars 
at the option of the holder"; together with "the repeal of the compulsory 
feature of the present coinage act." A bill authorizing the issue of treasury 
notes on deposits of silver bullion was introduced in the House, January 20, 
1890, by E. H. Conger of Iowa, and referred to the Committee on Coinage, 
Weights, and Measures. The bill was reported April 9. Another bill direct- 
ing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of treasury notes thereon, was 
introduced by Conger April 24, and referred ; June 5 an amended form of 
this bill was substituted for the bill already before the House, and the bill 
passed, the vote being 135 to 119, 73 not voting. In the meantime a bill 
prepared by the Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with the recom- 
mendations of his annual report, had been introduced in the Senate, January 
20, by Morrill of Vermont, by request, had been taken up March 31, and was 
under consideration when the House bill was received. June 13 the House 
bill was substituted for the bill before the Senate. On the 17th a free coin- 
age amendment, offered by Plumb of Kansas, was agreed to by a vote of 43 to 
24, and the amended bill passed, the final vote being 42 to 25, 17 not voting. 
The House disagreed to the Senate amendments, and a conference commit- 
tee settled the final form of the bill. The report of the committee was agreed 
to by the Senate, July 10, by a vote of 39 to 26, and by the House July 12, by 
a vote of 122 to 90, 116 not voting. So much of the act as provided for the 
purchase of silver bullion and the issue of notes thereon was repealed by the 
act of November i, 1893 [No. 125]. 

References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXVI, 289, 290. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 51st Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. The texts of the bills of April 24 and June 5 are in the Rec- 
ord, June 7, House proceedings. On Conger's bill of January 29 see House 
Report 1086. On the act see Dewey, Financial History, 436-438 ; Sherman, 
Recollections, II, 1069-107 1 ; Knox, United States Notes, chap. ID. On the 
amount of coinage under the act see Senate Doc. i6j, 55th Cong., 2d Sess. 

An act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of Treasury notes 
thereon, and for other purposes. 

Be it efiac/ed . . ., That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby 
directed to purchase, from time to time, silver bulHon to the 
aggregate amount of four million five hundred thousand ounces, 



iSgo] SILVER PURCHASE ACT 399 

or so much thereof as may be offered in each month, at the 
market price thereof, not exceeding one dollar for three hundred 
and seventy-one and twenty-five hundredths grains of pure silver, 
and to issue in payment for such purchases of silver bullion 
Treasury notes of the United States to be prepared by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, in such form and of such denomina- 
tions, not less than one dollar nor more than one thousand 
dollars, as he may prescribe, and a sum sufficient to carry into 
effect the provisions of this act is hereby appropriated out of 
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 

Sec. 2. That the Treasury notes issued in accordance with the 
provisions of this act shall be redeemable on demand, in coin, at 
the Treasury of the United States, or at the office of any assistant 
treasurer of the United States, and when so redeemed may be 
reissued ; but no greater or less amount of such notes shall be 
outstanding at any time than the cost of the silver bullion and 
the standard silver dollars coined therefrom, then held in the 
Treasury purchased by such notes ; and such Treasury notes shall 
be a legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, 
except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract, and 
shall be receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues, and 
when so received may be reissued ; and such notes, when held 
by any national banking association, may be counted as a part 
of its lawful reserve. That upon demand of the holder of any 
of the Treasury notes herein provided for the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall, under such regulations as he may prescribe, redeem 
such notes in gold or silver coin, at his discretion, it being the 
established policy of the United States to maintain the two metals 
on a parity with each other upon the present legal ratio, or such 
ratio as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall each month 
coin two million ounces of the silver bullion purchased under the 
provisions of this act into standard silver dollars until the first 
day of July eighteen hundred and ninety- one, and after that time 
he shall coin of the silver bullion purchased under the provisions 
of this act as much as may be necessary to provide for the 



400 SILVER PURCHASE ACT [July 14 

redemption of the Treasury notes herein provided for, and any 
gain or seigniorage arising from such coinage shall be accounted 
for and paid into the Treasury. 

Sec. 4. That the silver bullion purchased under the provisions 
of this act shall be subject to the requirements of existing law 
and the regulations of the mint service governing the methods 
of determinating the amount of pure silver contained, and the 
amount of charges or deductions, if any, to be made. 

Sec. 5. That so much of the act of February twenty- eighth, 
eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, entitled " An act to authorize 
the coinage of the standard silver dollar and to restore its legal- 
tender character," as requires the monthly purchase and coinage 
of the same into silver dollars of not less than two million dollars, 
nor more than four million dollars' worth of silver bullion, is hereby 
repealed. 

Sec. 6. That upon the passage of this act the balances standing 
with the Treasurer of the United States to the respective credits 
of national banks for deposits made to redeem the circulating 
notes of such banks, and all deposits thereafter received for like 
purpose, shall be covered into the Treasury as a miscellaneous 
receipt, and the Treasury of the United States shall redeem from 
the general cash in the Treasury the circulating notes of said 
banks which may come into his possession subject to redemption ; 
and upon the certificate of the Comptroller of the Currency that 
such notes have been received by him and that they have been 
destroyed and that no new notes will be issued in their place, 
reimbursement of their amount shall be made to the Treasurer, 
under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may 
prescribe, from an appropriation hereby created, to be known 
as " National bank notes : Redemption account," but the provi- 
sions of this act shall not apply to the deposits received under 
section three of the act of June twentieth, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-four, requiring every National bank to keep in lawful 
money with the Treasurer of the United States a sum equal to 
five percentum of its circulation, to be held and used for the 
redemption of its circulating notes ; and the balance remaining 



iSyo] "ORIGINAL PACKAGE" ACT 4OI 

of the deposits so covered shall, at the close of each month, be 
reported on the monthly public debt statement as debt of the 
United States bearing no interest. 

Sec. 7. That this act shall take effect thirty days from and 
after its passage. 

Approved, July 14, 1890. 



No. 122. "Original Package" Act 

August 8, 1890 

In the case of Leisy v. Hardin, decided in 1S90, the Supreme Court of the 
United States held that, in the absence of a federal law to the contrary, intoxi- 
cating liquors, being subjects of interstate commerce, might be transported 
from one State to another, and sold in the original packages in which they 
were introduced, notwithstanding the prohibitory laws of the State in which 
they were offered for sale. As the decision would have the effect of nullifying 
to a considerable extent State prohibitory legislation, protection was immedi- 
ately sought at the hands of Congress. A bill " subjecting imported liquors to 
the provisions of the laws of the several States " had been introduced in the 
Senate, December 4, 1889, by James F. Wilson of Iowa. The bill was reported 
with an amendment May 14, 1890. May 27 the amendment was withdrawn 
and a substitute offered ; on the 29th the amended substitute passed the 
Senate, the vote being 34 to lo, 40 not voting. A substitute for the Senate 
bill passed the House July 22 by a vote of 177 to 38, 112 not voting. The 
Senate refused to concur in the House amendment, and the bill went to a 
conference committee. The report of the committee, recommending that the 
House recede from its amendments, was accepted by the House, August 6, by 
a vote of 119 to 93, 115 not voting, and by the Senate August 7, without a 
division. 

References, — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXVI, 313. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 51st Cong., 1st Sess., and 
the Cong. Record. The Senate report of May 14 is Senate Report ggj ; 
the House Report of July l is House Report 2604 ; see also Senate Report 
bio, 50th Cong., 1st Sess. The case of Leisy v. Hardin is in 135 U.S. 
Reports, lOO ; see also Ln re Rahrer, 140 ibid., 545 ; Gould and Tucker, 
Notes on the Revised Statutes, II, 621, 622. 
2 D 



402 ANTI-LOTTERY ACT [Sept. iS 

An act to limit the effect of the regulations of commerce between the sev- 
eral States and with foreign countries in certain cases. 

Be it enacted . . ., That all fermented, distilled, or other in- 
toxicating liquors or liquids transported into any State or Terri- 
tory or remaining therein for use, consumption, sale or storage 
therein, shall upon arrival in such State or Territory be subject 
to the operation and effect of the laws of such State or Territory 
enacted in the exercise of its police powers, to the same extent 
and in the same manner as though such liquids or liquors had 
been produced in such State or Territory, and shall not be 
exempt therefrom by reason of being introduced therein in origi- 
nal packages or otherwise. 

Approved, August 8, i8qo. 



No. 123. Anti-Lottery Act 

September 18, 1890 

A BILL to amend certain sections of the Revised Statutes relating to the 
transmission of lottery matter by mail was reported in the House, July 28, 
1890, by John A. Caldwell of Ohio, from the Committee on Post Offices and 
Post Roads, in place of sundry bills on the same subject previously referred to 
the committee. The bill was taken up August 16, amended, and passed. 
The bill was reported without amendment in the Senate September 2, and 
passed that body on the 1 6th. An act of March 2, 1S95, extended the pro- 
hibition to lottery matter originating abroad. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXVI, 465, 466. For 
the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 51st Cong., ist Sess., and 
the Cong. Record. There was no debate in the Senate. See also House 
Report 2844 and Senate Report 1677. 

An act to amend certain sections of the Revised Statutes relating to lot- 
teries, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted . . ., That section thirty-eight hundred and 
ninety-four of the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, 
amended to read as follows : 



1890] ANTI-LOTTERY ACT 403 

" Sec. 3894. No letter, postal-card, or circular concerning any 
lottery, so-called gift concert, or other similar enterprise offering 
prizes dependent upon lot or chance, or concerning schemes 
devised for the purpose of obtaining money or property under 
false pretenses, and no list of the drawings at any lottery or simi- 
lar scheme, and no lottery ticket or part thereof, and no check, 
draft, bill, money, postal note, or money-order for the purchase 
of any ticket, tickets, or part thereof, or of any share or any 
chance in any such lottery or gift enterprise, shall be carried in 
the mail or delivered at or through any post-office or branch 
thereof, or by any letter carrier ; nor shall any newspaper, circu- 
lar, pamphlet, or publication of any kind containing any adver- 
tisement of any lottery or gift enterprise of any kind offering 
prizes dependent upon lot or chance, or containing any list of 
prizes awarded at the drawings of any such lottery or gift enter- 
prise, whether said list is of any part or of all of the drawing, be 
carried in the mail or delivered by any postmaster or letter-carrier. 
Any person who shall knowingly deposit or cause to be deposited, 
or who shall knowingly send or cause to be sent, anything to be 
conveyed or delivered by mail in violation of this section, or who 
shall knowingly cause to be dehvered by mail anything herein for- 
bidden to be carried by mail, shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 
demeanor, and on conviction shall be punished by a fine of not 
more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more 
than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment for each 
offense. Any person violating any of the provisions of this sec- 
tion may be proceeded against by information or indictment and 
tried and punished, either in the district at which the unlawful 
publication was mailed or to which it is carried by mail for deliv- 
ery according to the direction thereon, or at which it is caused to 
be delivered by mail to the person to whom it is addressed." 

Sec. 2. That section thirty-nine hundred and twenty-nine of 
the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended to read 
as follows : 

" Sec. 3929. The Postmaster-General may, upon evidence satis- 
factory to him that any person or company is engaged in conduct- 



404 ANTI-LOTTERY ACT [Sept. i8 

ing any lottery, gift enterprise, or sciieme for the distribution of 
money, or of any real or personal property by lot, chance, or 
drawing of any kind, or that any person or company is conduct- 
ing any other scheme or device for obtaining money or property 
of any kind through the mails by means of false or fraudulent pre- 
tenses, representations, or promises, instruct postmasters at any 
postofifice at which registered letters arrive directed to any such 
person or company, or to the agent or representative of any such 
person or company, whether such agent or representative is acting 
as an individual or as a firm, bank, corporation, or association of 
any kind, to return all such registered letters to the postmaster 
at the office at which they were originally mailed, with the word 
' Fraudulent ' plainly written or stamped upon the outside thereof; 
and all such letters so returned to such postmasters shall be by 
them returned to the writers thereof, under such regulations as 
the Postmaster-General may prescribe. But nothing contained in 
this section shall be so construed as to authorize any postmaster 
or other person to open any letter not addressed to himself. The 
public advertisement by such person or company so conducting 
such lottery, gift enterprise, scheme, or device, that remittances 
for the same may be made by registered letters to any other per- 
son, firm, bank, corporation, or association named therein shall 
be held to be prima facie evidence of the existence of said agency 
by all the parties named therein ; but the Postmaster-General 
shall not be precluded from ascertaining the existence of such 
agency in any other legal way satisfactory to himself." 

Sec. 3. That section four thousand and forty-one of the Re- 
vised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as 
follows : 

"Sec. 4041. The Postmaster-General may, upon evidence satis- 
factory to him that any person or company is engaged in conduct- 
ing any lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme for the distribution of 
money, or of any real or personal property by lot, chance, or 
drawing of any kind, or that any person or company is conduct- 
ing any other scheme for obtaining money or property of any 
kind through the mails by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, 



1890] IMMIGRATION AND CONTRACT LABOR 405 

representations, or promises, forbid the payment by any post- 
master to said person or company of any postal money-orders 
drawn to his or its order, or in his or its favor, or to the agent 
of any such person or company, whether such agent is acting as 
an individual or as a firm, bank, corporation, or association of any 
kind, and may provide by regulation for the return to the remit- 
ters of the sums named in such money-orders. But this shall not 
authorize any person to open any letter not addressed to himself. 
The public advertisement by such person or company so conduct- 
ing any such lottery, gift enterprise, scheme, or device, that remit- 
tances for the same may be made by means of postal money-orders 
to any other person, firm, bank, corporation, or association named 
therein shall be held to be prima facie evidence of the existence 
of said agency by all the parties named therein ; but the Post- 
master-General shall not be precluded from ascertaining the exist- 
ence of such agency in any other legal way." 
Approved, September 19, 1890. 



No. 124. Immigration and Contract Labor 

March 3, 1891 

An act of March 3, 1875, forbade the entrance into the United States of 
"persons who are undergoing a sentence for conviction in their own country 
of felonious crimes other than political or growing out of or the result of such 
political offenses, or whose sentence has been remitted on condition of their 
emigration." By an act of August 3, 1892, a duty of fifty cents, to be paid 
by the master, owner, agent or consignee of the vessel, was imposed for each 
alien entering the United States by water. Convicts, insane or feeble-minded 
persons, and persons liable to become a public charge were forbidden to land, 
and foreign convicts, " except those convicted of political offenses," were to 
be returned, the expense of returning immigrants who were denied entrance 
to be borne by the owners of the vessels in which they came. A bill further 
to amend the laws relating to immigration and contract labor was introduced 
in the House, February 12, 1 891, by William D. Owen of Indiana, and 
passed on the 25th by a vote of 125 to 48. The Senate substituted the House 



406 IMMIGR-\TIOX AND COXTR-\CT L.\BOR [March 3 

bill for a similar bill of its own already under consideration, and passed the 
bill on the 27th. 

References. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXM, 10S4-10S7. For 
the proceedings see the House and Senate Journab, 51st Cong., 2d Sess., 
and the Cotig. Record. See also House Reports 3S07 and S472 ; House ReJ>ort 
2090, 52d Cong., 1st Sess. On earlier projects see House Report "jd, 40th 
Cong., 2d Sess. ; House Misc. Doc. 22, 45th Cong., 2d Sess. ; House Report t, 
46th Cong., 2d Sess. See also the act of August 2, 1SS2, for the regulation 
of passenger traffic by sea. 

An act in amendment to the various acts relative to immigration and the 
importation of aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor. 

Be it enacted . . ., That the following classes of aliens shall be 
excluded from admission into the United States, in accordance 
with the existing acts regulating immigration, other than those 
concerning Chinese laborers : All idiots, insane persons, paupers 
or persons likely to become a public charge, persons suifering 
from a loathsome or a dangerous contagious disease, persons who 
have been convicted of a felony or other infamous crime or mis- 
demeanor invoUing moral turpitude, polyganoists, and also any 
person whose ticket or passage is paid for with the money of 
another or who is assisted by others to come, unless it is affirma- 
tively and satisfactorily shown on special inquit}' that such person 
does not belong to one of the foregoing excluded classes, or to 
the class of contract laborers excluded by the act of Februar}' 
twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, but this section 
shall not be held to exclude persons li\-ing in the United States 
from sending for a relative or friend who is not of the excluded 
classes under such regulations as the Secretar}' of the Treasury 
may prescribe : Provided, That nothing in this act shall be con- 
strued to apply to or exclude persons convicted of a political 
offense, notwithstanding said political offense may be designated 
as a " felony, crime, infamous crime, or misdemeanor, involving 
moral turpitude " by the laws of the land whence he came or by 
the court convicting. 

Sec. 2. That no suit or proceeding for nolations of said act of 
February twenty-sixth, eighten hundred and eighty-five, prohibit- 



1S91] IMMIGR.\TIOX AND COXTll-VCr L.\BOR 407 

ing the importation and migration of foreigners under contract or 
agreement to perform labor, shall be settled, compromised, or dis- 
continued without the consent of the court entered of record with 
reasons therefor. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be deemed a violation of said act of Feb- 
ruary twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, to assist or 
encourage the importation or migration of any alien by promise 
of employment through advertisements printed and published in 
any foreign country; and any alien coming to this country in 
consequence of such an advertisement shall be treated as coming 
under a contract as contemplated by such act ; and the penalties 
by said act imposed shall be applicable in such a case : Provided, 
This section shall not apply to States and Immigration Bureaus of 
States advertising the inducements they ofTer for immigration to 
such States. 

Sec. 4. That no steamship or transportation companv or owners 
of vessels shall directly, or through agents, either by writing, 
printing, or oral representations, solicit, invite or encourage the 
immigration of any alien into the United States except by ordi- 
nary commercial letters, circulars, advertisements, or oral repre- 
sentations, stating the sailings of their vessels and the terms and 
facilities of transportation therein ; and for a violation of this pro- 
vision any such steamship or transportation company, and any 
such owners of vessels, and the agents by them employed, shall be 
subjected to the penalties imposed by the third section of said 
act of February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, 
for violations of the provision of the first section of said act. 

Sec. 5. That section five of said act of February twenty-sixth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-five, shall be, and hereby is, amended 
by adding to the second proviso^ in said sections the words " nor 
to ministers of any religious denomination, nor persons belonging 
to any recognized profession, nor professors for colleges and semi- 
naries," and by excluding from the second proviso of said section 
the words " or any relative or personal friend." 

Sec. 6. That any person who shall bring into or land in the 
1 " First proviso " substituted by act of March 3, 1893, chap. 206, sec. 6. 



408 IMMIGRATION AND CONTRACT LABOR [March 3 

United States by vessel or otherwise, or who shall aid to bring 
into or land in the United States by vessel or otherwise, any alien 
not lawfully entitled to enter the United States shall be deemed 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction, be punished by 
a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for 
a term not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprison- 
ment. 

Sec. 7. That the office of superintendent of immigration is 
hereby created and established, and the President, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, is authorized and directed 
to appoint such officer. . . . The superintendent of immigration 
shall be an officer in the Treasury Department, under the control 
and supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom he shall 
make annual reports in writing of the transactions of his office, 
together with such special reports, in writing, as the Secretary of 
the Treasury shall require. . . . 

Sec. 8. That upon the arrival by water at any place within the 
United States of any alien immigrants it shall be the duty of the 
commanding officer and the agents of the steam or sailing vessel 
by which they came to report the name, nationality, last residence, 
and destination of every such alien, before any of them are landed, 
to the proper inspection officers, who shall thereupon go or send 
competent assistants on board such vessel and there inspect all 
such aliens, or the inspection officers may order a temporary 
removal of such aliens for examination at a designated time and 
place, and then and there detain them until a thorough inspection 
is made. But such removal shall not be considered a landing 
during the pendency of such examination. The medical examina- 
tion shall be made by surgeons of the Marine Hospital Service. 
In cases where the services of a Marine Hospital Surgeon can not 
be obtained without causing unreasonable delay the inspector may 
cause an alien to be examined by a civil surgeon and the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury shall fix the compensation for such examina- 
tion. The inspection officers and their assistants shall have power 
to administer oaths, and to take and consider testimony touching 
the right of any such aliens to enter the United States, all of which 



1891J IMMIGRATION AND CONTRACT LABOR 409 

shall be entered of record.^ During such inspection after tempo- 
rary removal the superintendent shall cause such aliens to be prop- 
erly housed, fed, and cared for, and also, in his discretion, such 
as are delayed in proceeding to their destination after inspection. 
All decisions made by the inspection officers or their assistants 

1 The following additional regulations and requirements were established by an 
act of March 3, 1893, chap. 206 : " That, in addition to conforming to all present 
requirements of law, upon the arrival of any alien immigrants by water at any port 
within the United States, it shall be the duty of the master or commanding officer 
of the steamer or sailing vessel having said immigrants on board to deliver to the 
proper inspector of immigration at the port lists or manifests made at the time and 
place of embarkation of such alien immigrants on board such steamer or vessel, 
which shall, in answer to questions at the top of said lists, state as to each immi- 
grant the full name, age, and sex, whether married or single; the calling or occupa- 
tion ; whether able to read or write ; the nationality ; the last residence ; the seaport 
for landing in the United States; the final destination, if any, beyond the seaport 
of landing ; whether having a ticket through to such final destination ; whether the 
immigrant has paid his own passage or whether it has been paid by other persons 
or by any corporation, society, municipality, or government ; whether in possession 
of money, and if so, whether upwards of thirty dollars and how much if thirty dollars 
or less; whether going to join a relative, and if so, what relative and his name 
and address ; whether ever before in the United States, and if so, when and where ; 
whether ever in prison or almshouse or supported by charity ; whether a polyga- 
mist; whether under contract, express or implied, to perform labor in the United 
States; and what is the immigrant's condition of health mentally and physically, 
and whether deformed or crippled, and if so, from what cause. 

" Sec 2. That the immigrants shall be listed in convenient groups and no one 
list or manifest shall contain more than thirty names. 

" To each immigrant or head of a family shall be given a ticket on which shall 
be written his name, a number or letter designating the list, and his number on the 
list, for convenience of identification on arrival. Each list or manifest shall be verified 
by the signature and the oath or affirmation of the master or commanding officer 
or of the officer first or second below him in command, taken before the United 
States consul or consular agent at the port of departure, before the sailing of said 
vessel, to the effect that he has made a personal examination of each and all of the 
passengers named therein, and that he has caused the surgeon of said vessel sail- 
ing therewith to make a physical examination of each of said passengers, and that 
from his personal inspection and the report of said surgeon he believes that no one 
of said passengers is an idiot or insane person, or a pauper or likely to become a 
public charge, or suffering from a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease, or a 
person who has been convicted of a felony or other infamous crime or misde- 
meanor involving moral turpitude, or a polygamist, or under a contract or agree- 
ment, express or implied, to perform labor in the United States, and that also, 
according to the best of his knowledge and belief, the information in said list or 
manifest concerning each of said passengers named therein is correct and true," 



4IO IMMIGRATION AND CONTRACT LABOR [March 3 

touching the right of any aUen to land, when adverse to such 
right, shall be final unless appeal be taken to the superintendent 
of immigration, whose action shall be subject to review by the 
Secretary of the Treasury. It shall be the duty of the aforesaid 
officers and agents of such vessel to adopt due precautions to pre- 
vent the landing of any alien immigrant at any place or time other 
than that designated by the inspection officers, and any such 
officer or agent or person in charge of such vessel who shall 
either knowingly or negligently land or permit to land any alien 
immigrant at any place or time other than that designated by the 
inspection officers, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and 
punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by im- 
prisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or by both such 
fine and imprisonment. 

That the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe rules for in- 
spection along the borders of Canada, British Columbia, and 
Mexico so as not to obstruct or necessarily delay, impede, or 
annoy passengers in ordinary travel between said countries : Pro- 
vided, That not exceeding one inspector shall be appointed for 
each customs district. . . . 

All duties imposed and powers conferred by the second section 
of the act of August third, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, upon 
State commissioners, boards, or officers acting under contract 
with the Secretary of the Treasury shall be performed and exer- 
cised, as occasion may arise, by the inspection officers of the 
United States. 

Sec. 9. That for the preservation of the peace and in order 
that arrests may be made for crimes under the laws of the States 
where the various United States immigrant stations are located, 
the officials in charge of such stations as occasion may require 
shall admit therein the proper State and municipal officers charged 
with the enforcement of such laws, and for the purposes of this 
section the jurisdiction of such officers and of the local courts 
shall extend over such stations. 

Sec. 10. That all aliens who may unlawfully come to the United 
States shall, if practicable, be immediately sent back on the vessel 



1891] REPEAL OF SILVER RURCHASE ACT 41 1 

by which they were brought in. The cost of their maintenance 
while on land, as well as the expense of the return of such aliens, 
shall be borne by the owner or owners of the vessel on which such 
aliens came ; and if any master, agent, consignee, or owner of such 
vessel shall refuse to receive back on board the vessel such aliens, 
or shall neglect to detain them thereon, or shall refuse or neglect 
to return them to the port from which they came, or to pay the 
cost of their maintenance while on land, such master, agent, con- 
signee, or owner shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
shall be punished by a fine not less than three hundred dollars for 
each and every offense; and any such vessel shall not have clearance 
from any port of the United States while any such fine is unpaid. 

Sec. II. That any alien who shall come into the United States 
in violation of law may be returned as by law provided, at any 
time within one year thereafter, at the expense of the person or 
persons, vessel, transportation company, or corporation bringing 
such alien into the United States, and if that can not be done, 
then at the expense of the United States ; and any alien who 
becomes a public charge within one year after his arrival in the 
United States from causes existing prior to his landing therein 
shall be deemed to have come in violation of law and shall be 
returned as aforesaid. 

Sec, 12. [Pending actions not affected.] 

Sec. 13. [Jurisdiction of courts] ; and this act shall go into 
effect on the first day of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-one. 

Approved, March 3, 1891. 



No. 125. Repeal of the Silver Purchase Act 
of 1890 

November i, 1893 

A BILL to repeal the silver purchase act of July 14, 1890 [No. 121], was 
introduced in the House, August ii, 1893, by William L.Wilson of West 
Virginia. A free coinage substitute was offered by Bland of Missouri. On 



412 REPEAL OF SILVER PURCHASE ACT [Nov. I 

motion of Bland it was agreed that the debate should continue for fourteen 
days, eleven days to be allotted to general debate under the rules of the last 
House, and the last three days to the consideration of the bill and amend- 
ments under the five-minute rule ; that upon the close of the debate, votes 
should be taken in the following order : on free coinage of silver at the pres- 
ent ratio, then at the ratio of 17 to I, then at the ratio of 18 to i, then at the 
ratio of 19 to i, and finally at the ratio of 20 to i; and that in the event of 
these several votes resulting in the negative, the House should vote on an 
amendment to revive the so-called Bland- Allison act of February 28, 1878 
[No. 102]. The bill was then taken up, and formed the principal subject of 
debate until August 28. The disastrous panic, due in part to the anxiety 
caused by the shrinkage of gold reserve notwithstanding the rapid increase in 
the volume of silver certificates, made the debate one of extraordinary public 
interest, while the advocates of silver carried on a vigorous agitation for free 
coinage in the event of a repeal of the compulsory purchase clause of the act 
of 1890. The votes taken August 28 resulted as follows : on the free coin- 
age substitute, 125 to 226 ; on free coinage at the ratio of 17 to i, loi to 241; 
at 18 to I, 103 to 240 ; at 19 to i, 104 to 238 ; at 20 to i, 122 to 222 ; on 
reviving the Bland- Allison act, 136 to 213. The bill was then read a third 
time and passed, the vote being 239 to 109, 5 not voting. The Senate had 
under consideration a bill to the same effect as the House bill, as far as repeal- 
ing the purchase clause of the act of 1890 was concerned ; August 29 this was 
reported by the Committee on Finance as a substitute for the House bill. The 
bill was not considered until October 30, when the substitute was agreed to 
and the bill passed, the final vote being 43 to 32. November I, by a vote of 
194 to 94, 65 not voting, the House concurred in the Senate amendment. A 
bill to " coin the seigniorage " was vetoed by President Cleveland May 27, 1894. 
References.— Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXVHI, 4, 5. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 53d Cong., ist Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. Practically every aspect of the silver question was touched on 
in the debate. 

An Act to repeal a part of an act approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred 
and ninety, entitled " An act directing the purchase of silver bullion and 
the issue of Treasury notes thereon, and for other purposes." 

Be it enacted . . ., That so much of the act approved July four- 
teenth, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act directing 
the purchase of silver bullion and issue of Treasury notes thereon, 
and for other purposes," as directs the Secretary of the Treasury 
to purchase from time to time silver bullion to the aggregate 
amount of four million five hundred thousand ounces, or so much 



1891] CLEVELAND'S VENEZUELAN MESSAGE 413 

thereof as may be offered in each month at the market price 
thereof, not exceeding one dollar for three hundred and seventy- 
one and twenty-five one-hundredths grains of pure silver, and to 
issue in payment for such purchases Treasury notes of the United 
States, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. And it is hereby 
declared to be the poHcy of the United States to continue the 
use of both gold and silver as standard money, and to coin both 
gold and silver into money of equal intrinsic and exchangeable 
value, such equality to be secured through international agree- 
ment, or by such safeguards of legislation as will insure the main- 
tenance of the parity in value of the coins of the two metals, and 
the equal power of every dollar at all times in the markets and in 
the payment of debts. And it is hereby further declared that the 
efforts of the Government should be steadily directed to the estab- 
lishment of such a safe system of bimetallism as will maintain at 
all times the equal power of every dollar coined or issued by the 
United States, in the markets and in the payment of debts. 
Approved, November i, 1893. 



No. 126. President Cleveland's Venezuelan 
Message 

December 17, 1895 

The controversy over the boundary between Venezuela and Dutch Guiana, 
dating almost from the beginning of European settlements in the region, 
became of immediate interest to England in 1814, when Berbice, Demerara, 
and Essequibo were ceded by the Netherlands to Great Britain, Negotiations 
with Great Britain for the settlement of the dispute were begun in 1841, and 
continued with more or less interruption thereafter, but without result. An 
offer to arbitrate, made by the United States in December, 1886, was declined 
by Great Britain. The following year diplomatic relations between the latter 
power and Venezuela were broken off, but correspondence on the subject on 
the part of the United States continued. A joint resolution of February 20, 
1895, "earnestly recommended " arbitration "to the favorable consideration 
of both the parties in interest." In a communication of July 20, 1895, Secre- 



414 CLEVELAND'S VENEZUELAN MESSAGE [Dec. 17 

tary of State Olney strongly asserted the interest of the United States in the 
controversy because of its bearing on the Monroe Doctrine. To this com- 
munication Lord Salisbury replied in two notes dated November 26. An 
appropriation of ^100,000 for the expenses of the commission proposed by 
President Cleveland in his message of December 1 7 was promptly made, and 
the commission, the members of which were David J. Brewer, R. H. Alvey, 
F. R. Coudert, Daniel C. Oilman, and Andrew D. White, organized in Janu- 
ary, 1896. February 2, 1897, a treaty was concluded between Great Britain 
and Venezuela for a tribunal of arbitration to determine the boundary line in 
dispute. The report of the American commission was submitted February 27. 
The tribunal of arbitration met in Paris June 15, 1899, ^^'^ October 3 delivered 
its award. 

References. — Texi in Senate Jou7-nal, 54th Cong., ist Sess., 55, 56. The 
papers accompanying the message are in the Cong. Record, pp. 191-199. The 
official documents are voluminous, comprising the Report arid Accompattying 
Papers of the Commission ; British Blue Books, United States, No. i (1896), 
Venezuela, Nos. i, 3, 4, 5 (1896) ; Official History of the Discussion, etc. 
(Atlanta, Ga., 1896) ; Venezuelan Documents ; Venezuelan Briefs; Case of 
Venezuela ; Printed Argumetit on behalf of Venezuela; Counter Case of Vene- 
zuela ; British Case; British Counter Case; and the Proceedings of the 
tribunal of arbitration. See also Senate Exec. Doc. 226, 50th Cong., ist Sess. 

To the Congress: 

In my annual message addressed to the Congress on the 3d 
instant I called attention to the pending boundary controversy 
between Great Britain and the Republic of Venezuela, and recited 
the substance of a representation made by this Government to 
Her Britannic Majesty's Government suggesting reasons v/hy such 
dispute should be submitted to arbitration for settlement and in- 
quiring whether it would be so submitted. 

The answer of the British Government, which was then awaited, 
has since been received, and, together with the dispatch to which 
it is a reply, is hereto appended. 

Such reply is embodied in two communications addressed by 
the British prime minister to Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British 
ambassador at this capital. It will be seen that one of these 
communications is devoted exclusively to observations upon the 
Monroe doctrine, and claims that in the present instance a new 
and strange extension and development of this doctrine is insisted 



1895] CLEVELAND'S VENEZUELAN MESSAGE 415 

on by the United States, that the reasons justifying an appeal to 
the doctrine enunciated by President Monroe are generally inap- 
plicable " to the state of things in which we live at the present 
day," and especially inapplicable to a controversy involving the 
boundary line between Great Britain and Venezuela. 

Without attempting extended argument in reply to these posi- 
tions, it may not be amiss to suggest that the doctrine upon which 
we stand is strong and sound because its enforcement is important 
to our peace and safety as a nation, and is essential to the integ- 
rity of our free institutions and the tranquil maintenance of our 
distinctive form of government. It was intended to apply to every 
stage of our national life, and can not become obsolete while our 
Republic endures. If the balance of power is justly a cause for 
jealous anxiety among the Governments of the Old World and a 
subject for our absolute noninterference, none the less is an observ- 
ance of the Monroe doctrine of vital concern to our people and 
their Government. 

Assuming, therefore, that we may properly insist upon this 
doctrine without regard to " the state of things in which we 
live," or any changed conditions here or elsewhere, it is not 
apparent why its application may not be invoked in the present 
controversy. 

If a European power, by an extension of its boundaries, takes 
possession of the territory of one of our neighboring Republics 
against its will and in derogation of its rights, it is difficult to see 
why, to that extent, such European power does not thereby 
attempt to extend its system of government to that portion of 
this continent which is thus taken. This is the precise action 
which President Monroe declared to be " dangerous to our peace 
and safety," and it can make no difference whether the European 
system is extended by an advance of frontier or otherwise. 

It is also suggested in the British reply that we should not 
seek to apply the Monroe doctrine to the pending dispute be- 
cause it does not embody any principle of international law 
which " is founded on the general consent of nations," and that 
" no statesman however eminent, and no nation however power- 



41 6 CLEVELAND'S VENEZUEL.\N MESSAGE [Dec. 17 

ful, are competent to insert into the code of international law a 
novel principle which was never recognized before, and which 
has not since been accepted by the Government of any other 
country." 

Practically, the principle for which we contend has peculiar, 
if not exclusive, relation to the United States. It may not have 
been admitted in so many words to the code of international 
law, but since in international councils every nation is entitled 
to the rights belonging to it, if the enforcement of the Monroe 
doctrine is something we may justly claim, it has its place in 
the code of international law as certainly and as securely as if 
it were specifically mentioned, and when the United States is a 
suitor before the high tribunal that administers international law 
the question to be determined is whether or not we present 
claims which the justice of that code of law can find to be right 
and valid. 

The Monroe doctrine finds its recognition in those principles 
of international law which are based upon the theory that every 
nation shall have its rights protected and its just claims enforced. 

Of course this Government is entirely confident that under the 
sanction of this doctrine we have clear rights and undoubted 
claims. Nor is this ignored in the British reply. The prime 
minister, while not admitting that the Monroe doctrine is appli- 
cable to present conditions, states : " In declaring that the United 
States would resist any such enterprise if it was contemplated 
President Monroe adopted a policy which received the entire 
sympathy of the Enghsh Government of that date." He further 
declares : " Though the language of President Monroe is directed 
to the attainment of objects which most Englishmen would agree to 
be salutar)', it is impossible to admit that they have been inscribed 
by any adequate authority in the code of international law." 

Again he says : " They (Her Majesty's Government) fully 
concur with the view which President Monroe apparently enter- 
tained, that any disturbance of the existing territorial distribution 
in that hemisphere by any fresh acquisitions on the part of any 
European State would be a highly inexpedient change." 



1895] CLEVELAND'S VENEZUELAN MESSAGE 417 

In the belief that the doctrine for which we contend was clear 
and definite, that it was founded upon substantial considerations 
and involved our safety and welfare, that it was fully applicable 
to our present conditions and to the state of the world's progress, 
and that it was directly related to the pending controversy, and 
without any conviction as to the final merits of the dispute, but 
anxious to learn in a satisfactory and conclusive manner whether 
Great Britain sought, under a claim of boundary, to extend her 
possessions on this continent without right, or whether she merely 
sought possession of territory fairly included within her lines of 
ownership, this Government proposed to the Government of Great 
Britain a resort to arbitration as the proper means of settling the 
question, to the end that a vexatious boundary dispute between 
the two contestants might be determined and our exact standing 
and relation in respect to the controversy might be made clear. 

It will be seen from the correspondence herewith submitted 
that this proposition has been declined by the British Govern- 
ment, upon grounds which, in the circumstances, seem to me to 
be far from satisfactory. It is deeply disappointing that such an 
appeal, actuated by the most friendly feelings toward both nations 
directly concerned, addressed to the sense of justice and to the 
magnanimity of one of the great powers of the world and touch- 
ing its relations to one comparatively weak and small, should have 
produced no better results. 

The course to be pursued by this Government, in view of the 
present condition, does not appear to admit of serious doubt. 
Having labored faithfully for many years to induce Great Britain 
to submit this dispute to impartial arbitration, and having been 
now finally apprised of her refusal to do so, nothing remains but 
to accept the situation, to recognize its plain requirements, and 
deal with it accordingly. Great Britain's present proposition has 
never thus far been regarded as admissible by Venezuela, though 
any adjustment of the boundary which that country may deem 
for her advantage and may enter into of her own free will can 
not of course be objected to by the United States. 

Assuming, however, that the attitude of Venezuela will remain 



41 8 CLEVEL-\XDS VENEZUEL.\N MESSAGE [Dec. 17 

unchanged, the dispute has reached such a stage as to make it 
now incumbent upon the United States to take measures to deter- 
mine with suflScient certainty for its justiiication what is the true 
divisional Une between the Republic of Venezuela and British 
Guiana. The inquin- to that end should of course be conducted 
caremlly and judicially, and due weight should be given to all 
available evidence, records, and facts in support of the claims of 
both parties. 

In order that such an examination should be prosecuted in a 
thorough and satisfactorj' manner, I suggest that the Congress 
make an adequate appropriation for the expenses of a commis- 
sion, to be appointed by the Executive, who shall make the 
necessar)' investigation and report upon the matter with the 
least possible delay. When such report is made and accepted 
it will, in my opinion, be the duty of the United States to resist, 
by every means in its power, as a willful aggression upon its 
rights and interests, the appropriation by Great Britain of any 
lands or the exercise of governmental jurisdiction over any terri- 
tory- which, after investigation, we have determined of right be- 
longs to Venezuela. 

In making these recommendations I am fully alive to the 
responsibiUty incurred, and keenly realize all the consequences 
that may follow. 

I am, nevertheless, firm in my conviction that while it is a 
grievous thing to contemplate the two great English-speaking 
peoples of the world as being otherwise than friendly competi- 
tors in the onward march of civilization and strenuous and 
worthy rivals in all the arts of peace, there is no calamity which 
a great nation can invite which equals that which follows a 
supine submission to wrong and injustice and the consequent 
loss of national self-respect and honor, beneath which are shielded 
and defended a people's safety and greatness. 

GRo^^;R Cle^-el.\xd. 

EXECum-E iLvS5lo>-, December ij, iSgj. 



1895] REAL ESTATE IN TERIUTORIES 419 

No. 1 27. Alien Ownership of Real Estate in 
the Territories 

March 2, 1897 

A BILL to amend the act of March 3, 1887 [No. 116], relating to the owner- 
ship of real estate in the Territories by aliens, was introduced in the House, 
May I, 1896, by Thomas B. Catron, delegate from New Mexico. The bill 
was reported without amendment May 23, but no further action was taken 
during the session. December 10 the bill was called up, and, after some dis- 
cussion, engrossment was refused. Another bill, with title as in the act fol- 
lowing, was introduced by Catron on the 17th, and passed January 12, 1897. 
The bill was reported without amendment in the Senate February 16, and 
passed on the 25th. The reason for the act was stated to be the fact that the 
act of 1887 had operated to keep capital out of the Territories. 

References. — r(?;r/ in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXIX, 618, 619. For 
the proceedings see the House and Senate /ournals, 54th Cong., ist and 2d 
Sess., and the Cottg. Record. The text of the bill reported May 23 is in the 
Record, December 10. See House Report 24^4; Senate Report 26go, 50th 
Cong., 2d Sess. 

An Act to better define and regulate the rights of aliens to hold and own real 
estate in the Territories. 

Be it ejiacfed . . ., That an Act entitled " An Act to restrict 
the ownership of real estate in the Territories to American citi- 
zens, and so forth," approved March third, eighteen hundred and 
eighty-seven, except so far as it affects real estate in the District 
of Columbia, be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read 
as follows : 

"That no alien or person who is not a citizen of the United 
States, or who has not declared his intention to become a citizen 
of the United States in the manner provided by law shall acquire 
title to or own any land in any of the Territories of the United 
States except as hereinafter provided : Provided, That the prohibi- 
tion of this section shall not apply to cases in which the right to 
hold or dispose of lands in the United States is secured by exist- 
ing treaties to citizens or subjects of foreign countries, which 
rights, so far as they may exist by force of any such treaty, shall 



420 REAL ESTATE IN TERRITORIES [March 2 

continue to exist so long as such treaties are in force, and no 
longer. 

" Sec. 2. That this Act shall not apply to land now owned in 
any of the Territories of the United States by aliens, which was 
acquired on or before March third, eighteen hundred and eighty- 
seven, so long as it is held by the then owners, their heirs or legal 
representatives, nor to any ahen who shall become a bona fide 
resident of the United States, and any alien who shall become a 
bona fide resident of the United States, or shall have declared 
his intention to become a citizen of the United States in the man- 
ner provided by law, shall have the right to acquire and hold 
lands in either of the Territories of the United States upon the 
same terms as citizens of the United States : Provided, That if 
any such resident alien shall cease to be a bona fide resident of 
the United States then such ahen shall have ten years from the 
time he ceases to be such bona fide resident in which to alienate 
such lands. This Act shall not be construed to prevent any per- 
sons not citizens of the United States from acquiring or holding 
lots or parcels of lands in any incorporated or platted city, town, 
or village, or in any mine or mining claim, in any of the Territories 
of the United States. 

"Sec, 3. That this Act shall not prevent aliens ft-om acquiring 
lands or any interests therein by inheritance or in the ordinary 
course of justice in the collection of debts, nor from acquiring 
liens on real estate or any interest therein, nor from lending 
money and securing the same upon real estate or any interest 
therein ; nor from enforcing any such lien, nor from acquiring 
and holding title to such real estate, or any interest therein, upon 
which a lien may have heretofore or may hereafter be fixed, or 
upon which a loan of money may have been heretofore or here- 
after may be made and secured : Provided, hotuever, That all lands 
so acquired shall be sold within ten years after title shall be per- 
fected in him under said sale or the same shall escheat to the 
United States and be forfeited as hereinafter provided. 

" Sec. 4. That any alien who shall hereafter hold lands in any 
of the Territories of the United States in contravention of the pro- 



1897] REAL ESTATE IN TERRITORIES 42 1 

visions of this Act may nevertheless convey his title thereto at any 
time before the institution of escheat proceedings as hereinafter 
provided : Provided, hotuever, That if any such conveyance shall 
be made by such alien, either to an alien or to a citizen of the 
United States, in trust and for the purpose and with the intention 
of evading the provisions of this Act, such conveyance shall be 
null and void, and any such lands so conveyed shall be forfeited 
and escheat to the United States. 

"Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General of 
the United States, when he shall be informed or have reason to 
believe that land in any of the Territories of the United States are 
[is'] being held contrary to the provisions of this Act, to institute or 
cause to be instituted suit in behalf of the United States in the 
district court of the Territory in the district where such land or a 
part thereof may be situated, praying for the escheat of the same 
on behalf of the United States to the United States : Provided, 
That before any such suit is instituted the Attorney-General shall 
give or cause to be given ninety days' notice by registered letter 
of his intention to sue, or by personal notice directed to or deliv- 
ered to the owner of said land, or the person who last rendered 
the same for taxation, or his agent, and to all other persons hav- 
ing an interest in such lands of which he may have actual or con- 
structive notice. In the event personal notice can not be obtained 
in some one of the modes above provided, then said notice shall 
be given by publication in some newspaper published in the county 
where the land is situate, and if no newspaper is pubHshed in said 
county then the said notice shall be published in some newspaper 
nearest said county. 

" Sec. 6. That if it shall be determined upon the trial of any 
such escheat proceedings that the lands are held contrary to the 
provisions of this Act, the court trying said cause shall render judg- 
ment condemning such lands and shall order the same to be sold 
as under execution ; and the proceeds of such sale, after deduct- 
ing costs of such suit, shall be paid to the clerk of such court so 
rendering judgment, and said fund shall remain in the hands of 
such clerk for one year from the date of such payment, subject to 



422 INDEPENDENCE OF CUBA [April 20 

the order of the alien owner of such lands, or his heirs or legal 
representatives ; and if not claimed within the period of one year, 
such clerk shall pay the same into the treasury of the Territory in 
which the lands may be situated, for the benefit of the available 
school fund of said Territory : Provided, That the defendant in any 
such escheat proceedings may, at any time before final judgment, 
suggest and show to the court that he has conformed with the law, 
either \by\ becoming a bona fide resident of the United States, 
or by declaring his intention of becoming a citizen of the United 
States, or by the doing or happening of any other act which, under 
the provisions of this Act, would entitle him to hold or own real 
estate, which being admitted or proved, such suit shall be dis- 
missed on payment of costs and a reasonable attorney fee to be 
fixed by the court. 

" Sec. 7. That this Act shall not in any manner be construed 
to refer to the District of Columbia, nor to authorize aliens to 
acquire title from the United States to any of the public lands 
of the United States or to in any manner affect or change the 
laws regulating the disposal of the public lands of the United 
States. And the Act of which this Act is an amendment shall 
remain in force and unchanged by this Act so far as it refers to 
or affects real estate in the District of Columbia. 

" Sec. 8. That all laws and parts of laws so far as they conflict 
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed." 

Approved, March 2, 1897. 



No. 128. Recognition of the Independence 
of Cuba 

April 20, 1898 

In his annual message of December 6, 1897, President McKinley reviewed 
the course of the insurrection which had been in progress in Cuba since 
P'ebruary, 1895, ^"'^ opposed the recognition of Cuban belligerency. A reso- 
lution recognizing the independence of Cuba, being the same as the resolu- 



1898] INDEPENDENCE OF CUBA 423 

tion finally adopted, but without the fourth section, was reported in the 
Senate, April 13, 1898, by Cushman K. Davis of Minnesota, from the Com- 
mittee on Foreign Relations. An amendment offered on the i6th by David 
Turpie of Indiana, recognizing the Republic of Cuba " as the true and law- 
ful government of that island," was agreed to by a vote of 51 to 37, and, with 
the further addition of the fourth section, offered as an amendment by Davis, 
the resolution passed. A resolution directing the President to intervene to 
put an end to the war in Cuba "to the end and with the purpose of securing 
permanent peace and order there and establishing by the free action of the 
people thereof a stable and independent government of their own,'' was re- 
ported in the House, April 13, by Robert Adams of Pennsylvania, from the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, as a substitute for numerous bills and resolu- 
tions previously submitted. A substitute recognizing the independence of the 
Republic of Cuba, offered by Albert S. Berry of Kentucky on behalf of the 
minority of the committee, was rejected by a vote of 150 to 190, and the reso- 
lution was agreed to, the final vote being 324 to 19. In the Senate, April 16, 
the House resolution was substituted for the resolution already before the 
Senate, and then amended by striking out the words of the House resolution 
and inserting the resolution of the Senate. On the i8th the House concurred 
with an amendment, offered by Nelson Dingley of Maine, striking out the 
clause recognizing the Republic of Cuba, the vote being 178 to 156. The 
Senate refusing to concur in the House amendment, the resolution went to a 
conference committee, which reported inability to agree, and a second com- 
mittee settled the final form of the resolution. The report of the second 
committee was agreed to in the House by a vote of 311 to 6, and in the 
Senate by a vote of 42 to 35. 

References. — Text in U.S. Stalutes at Large, XXX, 738, 739. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 55th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. See also Senate Report 885 ; Senate Doc. 166 and Senate Re- 
port 1 160, 54th Cong., 2d Sess.; and the various messages of the President. 
A large amount of documentary matter was printed in the Record in the 
course of the debate. 

Joint Resolution for the recognition of the independence of the people of 
Cuba, demanding that the Government of Spain relinquish its authority 
and government in the Island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and naval 
forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the 
United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to 
carry these resolutions into effect. 

Whereas the abhorrent conditions which have existed for more 
than three years in the Island of Cuba, so near our own borders, 
have shocked the moral sense of the people of the United States, 



424 DECLARATION OF WAR [April 25 

have been a disgrace to Christian civiHzation, culminating, as they 
have, in the destruction of a United States battle ship, with two 
hundred and sixty-six of its officers and crew, while on a friendly 
visit in the harbor of Havana, and can not longer be endured, as 
has been set forth by the President of the United States in his 
message to Congress of April eleventh, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-eight, upon which the action of Congress was invited : 
Therefore, 

Resolved . . ., First. That the people of the Island of Cuba 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent. 

Second. That it is the duty of the United States to demand, 
and the Government of the United States does hereby demand, 
that the Government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and 
government in the Island of Cuba and withdraw its land and naval 
forces from Cuba and Cuban waters. 

Third. That the President of the United States be, and he 
hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and 
naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual ser- 
vice of the United States the miUtia of the several States, to such 
extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect. 

Fourth. That the United States hereby disclaims any disposi- 
tion or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control 
over said Island except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its 
determination, when that is accompUshed, to leave the govern- 
ment and control of the Island to its people. 

Approved, April 20, 1898. 



No. 129. Declaration of War 

April 25, 1898 

The destruction of the battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana, on the 
night of February 15, 1898, was followed, March 9, by the appropriation 
of $50,000,000 for the national defence. An account of the Maine affair, 
together with the findings of the court of inquiry, was laid before Congress 



1898] DECLARATION OF WAR 425 

by President McKinley in his message of March 28. April 1 1 the President 
asked for authority to intervene and end the war in Cuba. On the 22d a 
blockade of the north coast of Cuba, and of Cienfuegos on the south coast, 
was proclaimed, and on the next day 125,000 volunteers were called for under 
authority of the joint resolution of April 20 [No. 128]. On the 25th the 
President announced the withdrawal of the Spanish minister, and recom- 
mended a declaration of war. A joint resolution was at once introduced 
in the House by Adams of Pennsylvania, from the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, and passed both houses the same day without divisions. A proclama- 
tion regarding neutrals was issued April 26. May 25 a call for 75,000 addi- 
tional volunteers was issued. By a proclamation of June 27, the blockade was 
extended to the whole of the south coast of Cuba, and to San Juan, Porto 
Rico. Acts of July 8, 1898, and March 3, 1899, provided for the reimburse- 
ment to States of the expenses incurred by them on account of the war. 

References. — Text in U.S. Stahites at Large, XXX, 364. For the pro- 
ceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 55th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. There was no debate in the House, and the discussion in the 
Senate was with closed doors. For the correspondence with Spain see the 
Foreign Relatiotis, 1897 ^°d 1898. The report of the Maine court of inquiry 
is Senate Doc. 207, 55th Cong., 2d Sess.; the report on the investigation of 
the War Department, Senate Doc. 221, 56th Cong., 1st Sess.; the " beef" in- 
quiry, Senate Doc. 270, ibid. See also Notes on the Spanish-American War, 
Senate Doc. 288, ibid. 

An Act declaring that war exists between the United States of America and 
the Kingdom of Spain. 

Be it enacted . . ., First. That war be, and the same is hereby, 
declared to exist, and that war has existed since the twenty-first 
day of April, anno Domini eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, 
including said day, between the United States of America and the 
Kingdom of Spain. 

Second. That the President of the United States be, and he 
hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and 
naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual ser- 
vice of the United States the militia of the several States, to such 
extent as may be necessary to carry this Act into effect. 

Approved, April 25, 1898. 



426 ANNEXATION OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS [July 7 

No. 130. Annexation of the Hawaiian Islands 

July 7, 1898 

In January, 1893, Queen Liliuokalani of the Hawaiian Islands was forced 
to abdicate, and a provisional government was proclaimed, followed in July, 
1894, by the establishment of a repubhc. The constitution of the republic 
expressly authorized a treaty of "political or commercial union " with the 
United States. A treaty of annexation, concluded in 1893, was withdrawn by 
President Cleveland. A second treaty was signed June 16, 1897, ^^^ ratified 
by the Senate of Hawaii. On the outbreak of the war with Spain the United 
States assumed to use the islands as a naval base. May 4, 1898, while the 
treaty of annexation was pending, Francis G. Newlands of Nevada introduced 
a joint resolution for annexation, the resolution being one of several similar 
propositions which had been submitted to Congress. The terms proposed by 
the resolution were substantially the same as those embodied in the pending 
treaty. The resolution was reported without amendment May 17, but was 
not taken up until June 11. On the 15th a substitute declaring against the 
acquisition of the islands by any foreign power, and guaranteeing their inde- 
pendence, was rejected by a vote of 96 to 204, and the resolution passed, the 
final vote being 209 to 91. The resolution was reported in the Senate June 
17 without amendment, taken up on the 20th, and debated until July 6, 
when, by a vote of 42 to 21, it was agreed to. The formal transfer of the 
islands took place August 12. An act of April 30, 1900, provided a territo- 
rial form of government. 

References. — TVx/ in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXX, 750, 751. For the 
proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 55th Cong., 2d Sess., and the 
Cong. Record. See also Senate Report 681 and House Report /Jjj. The re- 
port of the Hawaiian commission is Senate Doc. 16, 55th Cong., 3d Sess. On 
the earlier relations with Hawaii see Seriate Report 22"/ and House Exec. Doc, 
47, 53d Cong., 2d Sess. 

Joint Resolution To provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United 
States, 

Whereas the Government of the Republic of Hawaii having, in 
due form, signified its consent, in the manner provided by its 
constitution, to cede absolutely and without reserve to the United 
States of America all rights of sovereignty of whatsoever kind in 
and over the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies, and also 



iSgS] ANNEXATION OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 427 

to cede and transfer to the United States the absolute fee and own- 
ership of all public, Government, or Crown lands, public buildings 
or edifices, ports, harbors, miUtary equipment, and all other public 
property of every kind and description belonging to the Gov- 
ernment of the Hawaiian Islands, together with every right and 
appurtenance thereunto appertaining : Therefore, 

Resolved . . ., That said cession is accepted, ratified, and con- 
firmed, and that the said Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies 
be, and they are hereby, annexed as a part of the territory of the 
United States and are subject to the sovereign dominion thereof, 
and that all and singular the property and rights hereinbefore 
mentioned are vested in the United States of America. 

The existing laws of the United States relative to public lands 
shall not apply to such lands in the Hawaiian Islands ; but the 
Congress of the United States shall enact special laws for their 
management and disposition : Provided, That all revenue from or 
proceeds of the same, except as regards such part thereof as may 
be used or occupied for the civil, military, or naval purposes of 
the United States, or may be assigned for the use of the local gov- 
ernment, shall be used solely for the benefit of the inhabitants of 
the Hawaiian Islands for educational and other pubhc purposes. 

Until Congress shall provide for the government of such islands 
all the civil, judicial, and miUtary powers exercised by the officers 
of the existing government in said islands shall be vested in such 
person or persons and shall be exercised in such manner as the 
President of the United States shall direct ; and the President 
shall have power to remove said officers and fill the vacancies so 
occasioned. 

The existing treaties of the Hawaiian Islands with foreign na- 
tions shall forthwith cease and determine, being replaced by such 
treaties as may exist, or as may be hereafter concluded, between 
the United States and such foreign nations. The municipal leg- 
islation of the Hawaiian Islands, not enacted for the fulfillment 
of the treaties so extinguished, and not inconsistent with this 
joint resolution nor contrary to the Constitution of the United 
States nor to any existing treaty of the United States, shall 



428 ANNEXATION OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS [July 7 

remain in force until the Congress of the United States shall 
otherwise determine. 

Until legislation shall be enacted extending the United States 
customs laws and regulations to the Hawaiian Islands the existing 
customs relations of the Hawaiian Islands with the United States 
and other countries shall remain unchanged. 

The public debt of the Republic of Hawaii, lawfully existing 
at the date of the passage of this joint resolution, including the 
amounts due to depositors in the Hawaiian Postal Savings Bank, is 
hereby assumed by the Government of the United States ; but the 
liability of the United States in this regard shall in no case exceed 
four million dollars. So long, however, as the existing Govern- 
ment and the present commercial relations of the Hawaiian 
Islands are continued as hereinbefore provided said Government 
shall continue to pay the interest on said debt. 

There shall be no further immigration of Chinese into the Ha- 
waiian Islands, except upon such conditions as are now or may 
hereafter be allowed by the laws of the United States ; and no 
Chinese, by reason of anything herein contained, shall be allowed 
to enter the United States from the Hawaiian Islands. 

The President shall appoint five commissioners, at least two of 
whom shall be residents of the Hawaiian Islands, who shall, as 
soon as reasonably practicable, recommend to Congress such 
legislation concerning the Hawaiian Islands as they shall deem 
necessary or proper. 

Sec. 2. That the commissioners hereinbefore provided for shall 
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate. 

Sec. 3. That the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or so 
much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of 
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to be 
immediately available, to be expended at the discretion of the 
President of the United States of America, for the purpose of 
carrying this joint resolution into effect. 

Approved, July 7, 1898. 



1898] TREATY OF FARIS 429 

No. 131. Treaty of Paris 

December 10, 1898 

Overtures for peace between the United States and Spain were begun July 
26, 1898, through Jules Cambon, the French ambassador, resulting, August 12, 
in the signing of a protocol and the suspension of hostilities. Commissioners 
on the part of the United States were named August 26, Senator George 
Gray of Delaware being appointed, September 9, in place of Justice Edward 
D. White, who declined to serve. The commissioners of the two countries met 
at Paris October i, and December 10 concluded a treaty of peace. The 
Senate ratified the treaty February 6, 1899, and April 11 the treaty was pro- 
claimed. The appropriation of ;^20,ooo,ooo called for by Article III was 
made March 2. 

References. — Texi in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXX, 1 754-1 762. For the 
protocols and other documents see Senate Doc. 62, 55th Cong., 3d Sess. 

The United States of America and Her Majesty the Queen 
Regent of Spain, in the name of her august son Don Alfonso 
XIII, desiring to end the state of war now existing between the 
two countries, have for that purpose appointed as Plenipotentiaries : 

The President of the United States, 

William R. Day, Cushman K. Davis, Willlvm P. Frye, George 
Gray, and Whitelaw Reid, citizens of the United States; 

And Her Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain, 

Don Eugenio Montero Rfos, President of the Senate, 

Don Buenaventura de Abarzuza, Senator of the Kingdom, and 
ex-Minister of the Crown, 

Don Jose: de Garnica, Deputy to the Cortes and Associate 
Justice of the Supreme Court ; 

Don Wenceslao Ramirez de Vii.la-Urrutia, Envoy Extraordi- 
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Brussels, and 

Don Rafael Cerero, General of Division ; 

Who, having assembled in Paris, and having exchanged their 
full powers, which were found to be in due and proper form, 
have, after discussion of the matters before them, agreed upon 
the following articles : 



430 TREATY OF PARIS [Dec. lo 

Article I. 

Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to 
Cuba. 

And as the island is, upon its evacuation by Spain, to be 
occupied by the United States, the United States will, so long as 
such occupation shall last, assume and discharge the obligations 
that may under international law result from the fact of its 
occupation, for the protection of life and property. 

Article II. 

Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and 
other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, 
and the island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones. 

Article III. 

Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the 
Philippine Islands, and comprehending the islands lying within 
the following line : 

A line running from west to east along or near the twentieth 
parallel of north latitude, and through the middle of the navigable 
channel of Bachi, from the one hundred and eighteenth (ii8th) 
to the one hundred and twenty seventh (127th) degree meridian 
of longitude east of Greenwich, thence along the one hundred 
and twenty seventh (127th) degree meridian of longitude east of 
Greenwich to the parallel of four degrees and forty five minutes 
(4° 45 ') north latitude, thence along the parallel of four degrees 
and forty five minutes (4° 45 ') north latitude to its intersection 
with the meridian of longitude one hundred and nineteen degrees 
and thirty five minutes (119° 35') east of Greenwich, thence 
along the meridian of longitude one hundred and nineteen de- 
grees and thirty five minutes (119° 35') east of Greenwich to 
the parallel of latitude seven degrees and forty minutes (7° 40') 
north, thence along the parallel of latitude seven degrees and 
forty minutes (7° 40') north to its intersection with the one 
hundred and sixteenth (ii6th) degree meridian of longitude 



1898] TREATY OF PARIS 43 I 

east of Greenwich, thence by a direct hne to the intersection 
of the tenth (loth) degree parallel of north latitude with the 
one hundred and eighteenth (ii8th) degree meridian of longi- 
tude east of Greenwich, and thence along the one hundred and 
eighteenth (118th) degree meridian of longitude east of Green- 
wich to the point of beginning. 

The United States will pay to Spain the sum of twenty million 
dollars (^20,000,000) within three months after the exchange of 
the ratifications of the present treaty. 

Article IV. 

The United States will, for the term of ten years from the date 
of the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, admit 
Spanish ships and merchandise to the ports of the Philippine 
Islands on the same terms as ships and merchandise of the 
United States. 

Article V. 

The United States will, upon the signature of the present 
treaty, send back to Spain, at its own cost, the Spanish soldiers 
taken as prisoners of war on the capture of Manila by the 
American forces. The arms of the soldiers in question shall be 
restored to them. 

Spain will, upon the exchange of the ratifications of the present 
treaty, proceed to evacuate the Philippines, as well as the island 
of Guam, on terms similar to those agreed upon by the Com- 
missioners appointed to arrange for the evacuation of Porto 
Rico and other islands in the West Indies, under the Protocol 
of August 12, 1898, which is to continue in force till its provi- 
sions are completely executed. 

The time within which the evacuation of the Philippine Islands 
and Guam shall be completed shall be fixed by the two Govern- 
ments. Stands of colors, uncaptured war vessels, small arms, 
guns of all calibres, with their carriages and accessories, powder, 
ammunition, live stock, and materials and supplies of all kinds, 



432 TREATY OF PARIS [Dec. lo 

belonging to the land and naval forces of Spain in the Philippines 
and Guam, remain the property of Spain. Pieces of heavy 
ordnance, exclusive of field artillery, in the fortifications and 
coast defences, shall remain in their emplacements for the term 
of six months, to be reckoned from the exchange of ratifications 
of the treaty ; and the United States may, in the meantime, 
purchase such material from Spain, if a satisfactory agreement 
between the two Governments on the subject shall be reached. 

Article VI. 

Spain will, upon the signature of the present treaty, release all 
prisoners of war, and all persons detained or imprisoned for politi- 
cal offences, in connection with the insurrections in Cuba and the 
Philippines and the war with the United States. 

Reciprocally, the United States will release all persons made 
prisoners of war by the American forces, and will undertake to 
obtain the release of all Spanish prisoners in the hands of the 
insurgents in Cuba and the Phihppines. 

The Government of the United States will at its own cost return 
to Spain and the Government of Spain will at its own cost return to 
the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, accord- 
ing to the situation of their respective homes, prisoners released or 
caused to be released by them, respectively, under this article. 

Article VII. 

The United States and Spain mutually reUnquish all claims 
for indemnity, national and individual, of every kind, of either 
Government, or of its citizens or subjects, against the other Gov- 
ernment, that may have arisen since the beginning of the late 
insurrection in Cuba and prior to the exchange of ratifications 
of the present treaty, including all claims for indemnity for the 
cost of the war. 

The United States will adjudicate and settle the claims of its 
citizens against Spain relinquished in this article. 



1898] TREATY OF PARIS 433 

Article VIII. 

In conformity with the provisions of Articles I, II, and III of this 
treaty, Spain relinquishes in Cuba, and cedes in Porto Rico and 
other islands in the West Indies, in the island of Guam, and in the 
Philippine Archipelago, all the buildings, wharves, barracks, forts, 
structures, public highways and other immovable property which, 
in conformity with law, belong to the public domain, and as such 
belong to the Crown of Spain, 

And it is hereby declared that the relinquishment or cession, 
as the case may be, to which the preceding paragraph refers, 
cannot in any respect impair the property or rights which by law 
belong to the peaceful possession of property of all kinds, of prov- 
inces, municipaUties, public or private establishments, ecclesias- 
tical or civic bodies, or any other associations having legal capacity 
to acquire and possess property in the aforesaid territories re- 
nounced or ceded, or of private individuals, of whatsoever nation- 
ality such individuals may be. 

The aforesaid relinquishment or session, as the case may be, 
includes all documents exclusively referring to the sovereignty 
relinquished or ceded that may exist in the archives of the Penin- 
sula. Where any document in such archives only in part relates 
to said sovereignty, a copy of such part will be furnished whenever 
it shall be requested. Like rules shall be reciprocally observed 
in favor of Spain in respect of documents in the archives of the 
islands above referred to. 

In the aforesaid rehnquishment or cession, as the case may be, 
are also included such rights as the Crown of Spain and its authori- 
ties possess in respect of the official archives and records, execu- 
tive as well as judicial, in the islands above referred to, which 
relate to said islands or the rights and property of their inhabi- 
tants. Such archives and records shall be carefully preserved, 
and private persons shall without distinction have the right to 
require, in accordance with law, authenticated copies of the con- 
tracts, wills and other instruments forming part of notarial proto- 
cols or files, or which may be contained in the executive or judi- 
cial archives, be the latter in Spain or in the islands aforesaid. 

2F 



434 TREATY OF PARIS [Dec. lo 

Article IX. 

Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in the terri- 
tory over which Spain by the present treaty reHnquishes or cedes 
her sovereignty, may remain in such territory or may remove there- 
from, retaining in either event all their rights of property, includ- 
ing the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its proceeds ; 
and they shall also have the right to carry on their industry, com- 
merce and professions, being subject in respect thereof to such 
laws as are applicable to other foreigners. In case they remain 
in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to the Crown 
of Spain by making, before a court of record, within a year from 
the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, a declaration 
of their decision to preserve such allegiance ; in default of which 
declaration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have 
adopted the nationality of the territory in which they may reside. 

The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of 
the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be deter- 
mined by the Congress. 

Article X. 

The inhabitants of the territories over which Spain relinquishes 
or cedes her sovereignty shall be secured in the free exercise of 
their religion. 

Article XI. 

The Spaniards residing in the territories over which Spain by 
this treaty cedes or relinquishes her sovereignty shall be subject 
in matters civil as well as criminal to the jurisdiction of the courts 
of the country wherein they reside, pursuant to the ordinary laws 
governing the same ; and they shall have the right to appear 
before such courts, and to pursue the same course as citizens of 
the country to which the courts belong. 

Article XII. 

Judicial proceedings pending at the time of the exchange of 
ratifications of this treaty in the territories over which Spain relin- 



1S98] TREATY OF PARIS 435 

quishes or cedes her sovereignty shall be determined according to 
the following rules : 

1. Judgments rendered either in civil suits between private 
individuals, or in criminal matters, before the date mentioned, 
and with respect to which there is no recourse or right of review 
under the Spanish law, shall be deemed to be final, and shall be 
executed in due form by competent authority in the territory 
within which such judgments should be carried out. 

2. Civil suits between private individuals which may on the 
date mentioned be undetermined shall be prosecuted to judgment 
before the court in which they may then be pending or in the 
court that may be substituted therefor. 

3. Criminal actions pending on the date mentioned before the 
Supreme Court of Spain against citizens of the territory which by 
this treaty ceases to be Spanish shall continue under its jurisdiction 
until final judgment ; but, such judgment having been rendered, 
the execution thereof shall be committed to the competent 
authority of the place in which the case arose. 

Article XIII. 

The rights of property secured by copyrights and patents 
acquired by Spaniards in the Island of Cuba, and in Porto Rico, 
the Philippines and other ceded territories, at the time of the 
exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, shall continue to be 
respected. Spanish scientific, literary and artistic works, not sub- 
versive of public order in the territories in question, shall con- 
tinue to be admitted free of duty into such territories, for the 
period of ten years, to be reckoned from the date of the exchange 
of the ratifications of this treaty. 

Article XIV. 

Spain shall have the power to establish consular officers in the 
ports and places of the territories, the sovereignty over which has 
been either relinquished or ceded by the present treaty. 



43^ TREATY OF PARIS [Dec. lo, 1898] 

Article XV. 

The Government of each country will, for the term of ten years, 
accord to the merchant vessels of the other country the same 
treatment in respect of all port charges, including entrance and 
clearance dues, light dues, and tonnage duties, as it accords to 
its own merchant vessels, not engaged in the coastwise trade. 

This article may at any time be terminated on six months' 
notice given by either Government to the other. 

Article XVI. 

It is understood that any obligations assumed in this treaty by 
the United States with respect to Cuba are Hmited to the time of 
its occupancy thereof; but it will upon the termination of such 
occupancy, advise any Government established in the island to 
assume the same obligations. 

Article XVII. 

The present treaty shall be ratified by the President of the 
United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate 
thereof, and by Her Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain ; and the 
ratifications shall be exchanged at Washington within six months 
from the date hereof, or earlier if possible. 

In faith whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have 
signed this treaty and have hereunto affixed our seals. 

Done in duplicate ^ at Paris, the tenth day of December, in the 
year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight. 

[seal.] William. R. Day. 

[seal.] ■ CUSHMAN K. DaVIS. 

[seal.] Wm. p. Frye. 

[seal.] Geo. Gray, 

[seal.] Whilelaw Reid. 



iln 



Spanish and English, the representatives of Spain signing the Spanish text. 



Index 



[Titles in Italics indicate a Text with accompanying Notes 
AND References.] 



Abandoned property, act for collection of, 
79-81. 

Abolition of peonage , 168-169 ; of slavery 
in the District of Columbia, 35-39 ; of 
slavery in the Territories, 42, 43. 

Adams, Robert, 423, 425. 

Admission of West Virginia, act for, 56- 
58. 

Alabama, act admitting, to represetitation 
in Congress, 201-203. 

Alabama claims, 268 ff. 

Alaska, treaty with Russia for cession of, 
174-179. 

Allison, William B., 314. 

Allotment of lands in severalty to Indi- 
ans, 372-377- 

Alvey, R. H., 414. 

Amendment to the Constitution, thir- 
teenth, 138-139; fourteenth, 208-210; 
fifteenth, 226 ; act to enforce fifteenth, 
249-262 ; act to enforce fourteenth, 262- 
268. 

American citizens in foreign states, rights 
of 206-208. 

Amnesty, proclamation of, iS6j, 85-88; 
186$, 133-135; full, t868, 211-213. 

Annexation of Hawaiian Islands, joint 
resolution for, 426-428. 

Anlietam, 59. 

Anti-Lottery act, i8go, 402-405. 

Anti-Polygamy act of 1862, 43-45 ; of 
1S82, 319-322; of 1887, 380-389. 

Anti- Trust act, 395-397. 

Appointments and removals. See Civil 
Service Act, Tenure of Office Act. 

Arbitration, Geneva, 268 ff. ; Venezuela, 
414. 



Arkansas, act admitting, to representa- 
tion in Congress, 199-201. 

Army, coynmand of, 166-168; use of, at 
the polls, 317. 

Arnold, Isaac N., 42. 

Arthur, Chester A., 319, 332, 342, 389. 

Article of war, act for an additional, 31, 
32. 

Articles of impeachment, 184-198. 

Ashley, James M., 155, 184, 198. 

Babcock, Orville E., 247. 

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co., 23, 

Bank act, national, 93-113. 

Bank note act, 235-238. 

Bank notes. State, taxation of, 68, note i. 

Banks. See National Loan. 

Banks, Nathaniel P., 203, 207. 

Bayard, James A., 17. 

Bayard, Thomas F., 318. 

Berry, Albert S., 423. 

Berry, Campbell P., 323. 

Bingham, John A., 15, 151, 165, 224, 227, 

249. 
Blaine, James G., 156, 317. 
Bland, Richard P., 313, 314, 411, 412. 
Bland-Allison act, 313-316, 412. 
Blockade of southern ports, proclamation 

declaring, 3,4; of Cuba, 425. 
Bonds, purchase of, 318; national bank 

circulation and gold certificates, 328- 

331. See Finance; National Loan. 
Boutwell, George S., 185. 
Brewer, David J., 414. 
Brown, B. Gratz, 122. 
Buchanan, James, 16. 
Hurlingame treaty, 323. 



437 



438 



INDEX 



Butler, Benjamin F., 217, 246, 290, 303. 
Butler, R. R., 204. 

Caldwell, John A., 402. 

Call for 7S,ooo volimteers, i, 2. 

Canibon, Jules, 429. 

Cameron, Simon, 22. 

Catron, Thomas B., 419. 

Chandler, Zachariah, 79, 114. 

Chase, Salmon P., 4, 9, 27, 53, 185. 

Chinese immigration, act restricting, 323- 
328; exclusion act, 389-394. See 
Coolie Trade. 

Churchill, John C, 249. 

Citizens, rights of American, in foreign 
states, 206-208- 

Civil rights act, first, 141-146; second, 
303-306; eftforcement of fourteenth 
amendment, 262-268. See Elections; 
Force Bill. 

Civil service act, 332-339. 

Civil War. See War; Insurrection. 

Clark, Daniel, 152. 

Clarke, Sidney, 185. 

Cleveland, Grover, 318, 380, 426; Vene- 
zuelan message, 413-418. 

Coin, act authorizing further purchase of, 
32, 33 ; issue of silver, 306, 307. 

Coinage act, 294-296; standard silver 
dollars, 313-316. 

Collection of duties, act for, 4-9 ; of di- 
rect taxes in insurrectionary states, act 
for, 39-42 ; of abandoned property, act 
for, 79-81. 

Colonization of negroes, 52. 

Command of the army, 166-168.' 

Commerce. See Interstate Commerce 
Act ; " Original Package " Act. 

Compensated emancipation, resolution on, 

34, 35- 
Confiscation act of 1861, 20-22 ; of 1862, 

48-53. 

Conger, E. H., 398. 

Conkling, Roscoe, 34. 

Conspiracies, act to define and punish cer- 
tain, 17, 18. 

Constitution. See Amendments ; Elec- 
tions; Force Bill. 

Contract labor act, 330-342 ; contract la- 
bor and immigration, 405-411. See 
Immigration. 

Coolie trade, act prohibiting, 24-27. 



Correspondence with rebels, act to punish, 

61, 62. 
Coudert, F. R., 414. 
Credit, act to strengthen the public, 215, 

216. 
" Crime of 1873," 294. 
Crittenden, John J., 14. 
Cuba, recognition of independence of, 422- 

424; recognition of Republic of, 423; 

blockade of, 425. See Treaty of 

Paris. 
Cullom, Shelby M., 352. 
Currency, act suspending reduction of, 

183, 184. See Finance; National 

Loan; Notes. 

Davis, Cushman K., 423. 

Davis, Garrett, 45. 

Davis, Henry Winter, 122. 

Davis, Jefferson, 3. 

Davis, Noah, 238. 

Dawes, Henry L., 47, 204, 372. 

Debt, national, act for refunding, 242- 

245- 
Declaration of war against Spain, 424, 

425- 

Delano, Columbus, 169. 

Dingley, Nelson, 423. 

Direct taxes in insurrectionary states, act 
for collection of, 39-42. 

Disabilities , political, act removing, 290. 

Disloyal persons, payments to, 169, 170. 

District of Columbia, act abolishing slav- 
ery in, 35-39 ; equal rights in, 216, 217 ; 
franchise in, 154, 155. 

Dolph, Joseph N., 390. 

Doolittle, James R., 39. 

Draft, act to authorize, 68-74. See En- 
rolment Act; Militia. 

Duties, act for collection of, 4-9. 

Edmunds, George F., 160, 205, 221, 317, 
319, 347, 380. 

Eight hour laiv, 203, 204. 

Election of representatives by districts, 
47, 48 ; of senators, 152, 153 ; presiden- 
tial, of i8j6, 308-313. 

Elections: federal, act of iSjo, 227- 
235; supervisors and marshals, 241, 
242; act to enforce fifteenth amendment, 
249-262; act to enforce fourteenth 
amendment, 262-268 ; supplemetitary 



INDEX 



439 



act of i8-j2, 291-293 ; use of army at 
the polls, 317. 

Elective franchise in the Territories, 155, 
156. 

Electoral count, resolution on, i86§, 128, 
129 ; resolution excluding votes of late 
rebellious st.ites, 205, 206; electoral 
count act, 1877, 308-313 ; electoral 
count act, i88j, 347-352. 

Eliot, Thomas D., 24, 48, 129, 147. 

Emancipation, compensated, resolution on, 
34, 35; proclamation, 59-61. 

Enforcement of fifteenth amendment, act 
for, 227-235 ; supplementary act, 249- 
262 ; of fourteenth amendment, act for, 
262-268. 

Enrolment act of i86j, 68-74; supple- 
mentary act, 88-93; '^^'' of 1864, 117- 
120. See Draft; Militia. 

Equal rights in District of Columbia, 
216, 217. 

Ex parte McCardle, 165. 

Expatriation, 206-208. 

Extradition act, 214, 215. 

Fessenden, William P., 18, 27. 
Fifteenth amendment, 226; act to en- 
force, 22fy-22S '• supplementary act, 249- 

262. 
Finance : act to provide ways and means 

for the support of the government, 62- 

68 ; act to strengthen the public credit, 

215, 216. See Bonds; Currency; 

Legal Tender Notes ; National Loan ; 

Silver. 
Florida, act admitting, to representation 

in Congress, 201-203. 
Foran, Martin A., 339. 
"Force bill" of 1870, 227-235; of 1871, 

249-262; o//(?72, 291-293. 
Foreign mediation, resolution against, 

81-84. 
Fort, Greenbury L., 316. 
Fort Sumter, i. 
Fourteenth amendment, 208-210; act to 

enforce, 262-268. 
Fractional currency, 65, 66. 
Franchise in the District of Columbia, 

154, 155; in the Territories, 155, 

156. 
Freedmen's bureau, act to establish, 129- 

131 ; supplementary act, 147-150, 167. 



Freedom for negroes in military service, 
56, 92, 93 ; for soldiers families, 132. 

Frost, Rufus S., 306. 

Fugitive slave law, repeal of 113. 

Fugitive slaves, article of war on return 
of 31. 32- 

Garfield, James A., 291, 332. 

Geneva award, 268. 

Georgia, act admitting, to representation 

in Congress, 201-203; reconstruction 

of, 1869, 221-223 ■' '^^^ fof restoration 

of, 246, 247 ; militia, 247. 
Gilman, Daniel C, 414. 
Gold certificates, 331. 
Grant, Ulysses S., 185, 219, 221, 224, 247, 

301. 332. 
Gray, George, 429. 
Greenbacks. See Currency; Finance; 

Legal Tender Notes. 

Habeas corpus, act relating to, 75-79; 
act of indemnity, 164-166. 

Harrison, Benjamin, 397. 

Hawaiian Islands, resolution for annexa- 
tion of 426-428. 

Hayes, Rutherford B., 314, 317, 323, 332. 

Henderson, John B., 138. 

Hickman, John, 17. 

Hoar, George F., 342. 

Holden, William W., 136. 

Hooper, Samuel, 53, 94, 294, 

Horton, Valentine B., 15. 

Immigration, act to encourage, 120-122 ; 
act restricting Chinese, 323-328; act 
regarding immigration and contract 
labor, 405-411. 

Impeachment, articles of, 184-198. 

Indemnity for state war expenses, 15 ; for 
executive acts, 164-166. 

Independence of Cuba, resolution rec- 
ognizing, 422-444. 

Indians, allotment of lands in severalty 
to, 372-377- 

Ingersoll, Ebon C, 183. 

Insurrection at an end, proclamation 
declaring, 139. 

Insurrectionary states, intercourse with, 
114-117. 

International monetary conference, 315. 

Interstate cotnmerce act, 352-371. 



440 



INDEX 



Intoxicating liquors. See " Original 

Package " Act. 
Issue of silver coin, resolution for, 306, 

307- 

Johnson, Andrew, 14, 135, 139, 147, 154, 
157, 161, 166, 171, 180, 200, 201, 205, 206, 
211 ; articles of impeachment, 184-198. 

Johnson, Reverdy, 166. 

Kelley, William D., 294. 
Kellogg, William P., 291. 
Kelso, John R., 184. 
Knox, John Jay, 294. 

Lands, allotment of, in severalty to 
Indians, 372-377. 

Lanham, Samuel W. T., 379. 

Latin union, 315. 

Legal tender notes, act authorizing issue 
of, ■2j--^x ; act forbidding further retire- 
ment of, 316. See Currency. 

Leisy v. Hardin, 401. 

Liliuokalani, abdication of, 426. 

Lincoln, Abraham, i, 2, 3, 5, 9, 12, 34, 
35, 48, 59, 60, 68, 75, 85, 122, 123, 12S. 

Loan, Benjamin F., 184. 

Loan, act for a national, 9-12; supple- 
mentary act, 18-20. 

Lotteries. See Anti-Lottery Act. 

Louisia?ia, act admitting, to representa- 
tion in Congress, 201-203. 

Lovejoy, Owen, 42. 

Maine, destruction of the, 424. 

Marque and reprisal, Confederate letters 
of, 3. 

Maynard, Horace, 45, 296. 

McCrary, George W., 308. 

McKean, James B., 34. 

McKinley, William, 422, 425. 

Mediation, resolution against foreign, 81- 
84. 

Militia, act for calling out, 15-17 ; act of 
1862, 54-56; to be disbanded in cer- 
tain states, 167, 168 ; of Georgia, Mis- 
sissippi, Texas, and Virginia, 247. See 
Enrolment Act. 

Mississippi, provisional government of 
213; submission of constitution, 219, 
220; militia, 247. 

Mitchell, John L, 379. 



Monetary conference, international, 315. 
Mormon church dissolved, 385. 
Monnonism. See Anti-Folygamy Acts. 
Morrill, Justin S., 43, 398. 
Morton, Oliver P., 221, 247. 

National loan, act for a, 9-12 ; supple- 
mentary act, 18-20; bank Si:/, 93-113; 
banks, notes of, 235-238 ; debt, act for 
refunding, 242-245 ; bank currency and 
United States notes, 296-301 ; bank 
circulation, bonds, and gold certificates, 

328-331. 

Naturalization act, 238-242. 

Nature and object of the ivar, resolution 
on, 14. 

Negroes, in military service, 56, 92, 93 ; 
naturalization of, 242. 

Newlands, Francis G., 426. 

North Carolina, proclamation appointing 
a governor for, 135-138; act admitting, 
to representation in Congress, 201-203. 

Notes, legal tender, act authorizing issue 
of, 27-31 ; act forbidding further re- 
tiretnent of, 316; United States, and 
national bank currency, 296-301. See 
National Loan. 

Oath of office, 1862, 45-47 ; 186S, 204, 

205. 
Olney, Richard, 414. 
"Original package" act, 401, 402. 
Owen, William D., 405. 
Ownership of real estate in Territories, 

377-379. 419-422. 

Paris, treaty of, 429-436. 

Payments in stamps, act to authorize, 53, 
54; to disloyal persons, 169, 170. 

Payson, Lewis E., 377. 

Pendleton, George H., 332. 

Peonage, abolition of 168, 169. 

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Companv, 
384. 

Philippine Islands. See Treaty of Paris. 

Plumb, Preston B., 398. 

Political disabilities, act removing, 290. 

Polls, use of army at the, 317. 

Polygamy defined, 319. See Anti-Polyg- 
amy Acts. 

Porto Rico. See Treaty of Paris. 

Powell, Lazarus W., 17. 



INDEX 



441 



Presidential succession act, 342, 343. See 

Elections. 
Proclamation declaring blockade of South- 
ern ports, 3, 4 ; of emancipation, 59-61 ; 

of amnesty, 85-88. 
Property, abandoned, act for collection of, 

79-81. 
Provisional governments of Virginia, 

Texas, and Mississippi, 213. 
Public credit, act to strengthen, 215, 

216. 
Purchase of coin, act authorizing, 32-33 ; 

of bonds, 318. 

Railroad and telegraph lines, act author- 
izing seizure of 22-24. 

Real estate in the Territories, ownership 
of 377-379. 419-422. 

Recognition of Cuban independence, reso- 
lution for, 422-424. 

Reconstruction, proclamation regarding, 
122-128; Davis bill, 124-128; first act, 
156-160; second act, 170-174; third 
act, 179-183 ; fourth act, 198, 199. See 
also under names of States. 

Redemption and bank note act, 235- 
238. 

Reduction of the currency, act suspending, 
183, 184. 

Refunding the national debt, act for, 'Zi,'2- 

245- 

Removal of political disabilities, act for, 
290. 

Removals from office. See Tenure of 
Office Act. 

Repeal of fugitive slave law, 113. 

Representatives, election of, by districts, 
47. 48. 

Republic of Cuba, recognition of, 423. 

Restoration of Georgia, act for, 246, 247 ; 
of Tennessee, 151, 152. 

Restriction of Chinese immigration, act 
for, 323-328. 

Resumption of specie payments, 301-303. 

Retirement of legal tender notes, act for- 
bidding further, 316 ; of the trade dol- 
lar, 379, 380. 

Rights of American citizens in foreign 
states, 206-208; equal, in District of 
Columbia, 216, 217. 

Russia, treat)' with, for cession of Alaska, 
174-179. 



Salisbury, Lord, 414. 

San Domingo commissioners, act for, 247- 
249. 

Schenck, Robert C, 184, 215, 243, 

Scott, Winfield, 75. 

Second reconstruction act, 170-174. 

Seizure of railroad and telegraph lines, 
act authorizing, 22-24. 

Senators, election of 152, 153. 

Seward, William IL, 59. 

Shellabarger, Samuel, 262. 

Sherman, John, 94, 156, 235, 243, 294, 
301, 306, 395. 

Silver coin, resolution for issue of, 306, 
307- 

Silver dollar, standard, coinage of, 313- 
316. 

Silver purchase act, 397-401 ; repeal of, 
411-413. 

Slavery in District of Columbia, act abol- 
ishing, 35-39 ; abolition of, iti Terri- 
tories, 42, 43 ; thirteenth amendment, 
139. See Emancipation ; Fugitive 
Slave Law. 

Slaves of rebels, freedom for, 51, 52. 

Soldiers' families, freedom for, 132. 

South Carolina, act admitting to repre- 
sentation in Congress, 201-203. 

Southern ports, proclamation declaring 
blockade of, 3, 4. 

Spain, declaration of war against, 424, 425. 

Spaulding, Elbridge G., 27. 

Special laws in Territories, act prohib- 
iting, 344-347. 

Specie payments, resumption of, 301-303. 

Springer, William M., 344. 

Stamps, act authorizing payments in, 53, 

54- 
Standard silver dollar, coinage of, 313- 

316. 
Stanton, Edwin M., 179, 185 ff. 
State war expenses, indemnity for, 15 ; 

bank notes, taxation of, 68, note i. 
Stevens, Thaddeus, 9, 32, 53, 62, 75, 81, 

118, 156, 200, 201, 208. 
SuflFrage. See Franchise. 
Sumner, Charles, 56, 61, 82, 129, 138. 151, 

168, 216, 247, 303. 

Taxation of state bank notes, 68, note i. 
Telegraph and railroad lines, act author- 
izing seizure of, 22-24. 



442 



INDEX 



Tennessee, restoration of, 151, 152. 
Tenure of o£ice act, 160-164 '< cunended 

act, 217-218. 
Territories, abolition of slax'ery in, 42, 

43 ; elective franchise in, 155-156 ; act 

pro?txi)iting special laws in, 344-347; 

ownership of real estate in, 377-379, 

419-422. 
Texas, provisional government of, 213; 

submission of constitution of, 219, 220 ; 

militia of, 247. 
Thirteenth amendment, 138, 139. 
Thomas, Lorenzo, 187-190. 
Trade dollar, not to be legal tender, 307 ; 

retirement of, 379, 3S0. 
Treaty with Russia for cession of Alaska, 

174-179; of Washington, 268-2^0; of 

Paris, 429-436. 
Trumbull, Lyman, 20, 141, 180, 214. 
Trusts. See Anti- Trust Act 
Turpie, David, 423. 

United States notes and national dank 
currency, act regarding, 296-301. 

Utah, election officers in, 321, 322. See 
Anti-Polygamy Acts. 

Venezuelan message, Cleveland's, 413- 
41a 



Virginia, provisional government of, 213 ; 

submission of constitution, 219, 220; 

admission to representation in Congress, 

224-226 ; militia of, 247. 
Volunteers, call for jj,ooo, I, 2 ; act of 

1861, 12-14; act of 1S62, 55. 
Voting. See Franchise. 

Wade, Benjamin F., 23, 154, 155. 

War, resolution on nature and object of 
the, 14 ; indemnity for State expenses, 
15 ; act for additional article of, 31, 
32 ; declaration of against Spain, 424, 
425. 

Washburn, Elihu B., 120. 

Washington, treaty of 268-290. 

Ways and means for support of the gov- 
ernment, act to provide, 62-68. 

West Virginia, act for admission of, 
56-58. 

White, Albert S., 34. 

White, Andrew D., 414. 

White, Edward D.. 429. 

Williams, George H., 160. 

Willis, Albert S., 323. 

Wilson, Henry, 12, 35, 54, 68, 88, 132, 
168. 

Wilson, James F., 45, 12S, 401. 

Wilson, William L., 411. 



SELECT DOCUMENTS 

Illustrative of the History of the United Stales 

1776 186 I 

Edited with Notes by WIIJIAM MACf>()NAI.I) 

Professor of History in Jirown llinvfi \ily 



l2mo Clotli $2.2'i, net 



"It is a valuable bo<;k to students of American llinlory, iui<l, in'l<i-,|, lo ;ill 
persons who care to discuss our present jirol^ienis in lli'ir Iii!itr,ti( iil l<eiirin^;tt. 
We can think of no public (locuinenl, from the i)roniul>;!ilion of llie I)e( Ijiration 
of Independence to the adoption of the (JotiHlitutioti of the O^nfedetiile Sliile)*, 
to which frequent reference is made, which Ih not at leattt Huniinari/dd in i\m 
volume. The summaries, furthermore, whether of judicial decinionH, ritpi/rln, 
treatises, messages, or resolutions, arc admirably made. J I i» an i/ivabiaMe 
book for every reference library." — 'J'he Otillnok. 

" His aim is to furnish a selection of text available ff^r elatiH uHe, 'I he fie«<l 
of such a collection is impressed on the rnindH of the tea'.her» of history in 
colleges and high schools, for text-books and lectures abound in allusion* to, 
or abstracts of, documents which can really seem living only to th'Ae who 
read the text." — TAe Nation. 

"The recent report of the O.mmittec of Seven of ih'; Aintrican /n»tofi'al 
Association emphasized the importance f/f the judiciou* u»^ of th': ^uurrrA '4% 
illustrative material, for the itaqxAC of * vivifying arwl viuUmtn ' th<; p«;fi<//l 
studied. All progressive teachers rnu3>t a1rca/!y have realized for tlcrrnv Ivco 
the peculiar force of this recommendation a» applied Ut the otudy of A«i«;ri'»ri 
history, hence they will welcome ProfeJW^^r Ma/JJoriald'» coll' ttjon of docM' 
ments. The selections have been carefully and judicif/unly tinviti." 

— Annali of the Ameriian Academy. 

". . . The collection of documents «bil/itin}{ oor Un>^y;^ rt:hl'um» k 
admirable. I do not see how the space cmVi have t^ccn l/cUer utili/ed. , . , 
The book is to be highly commended. It » a wntt-wianowtd aAUxtUm <A 
osefol mateiial for giving the air of reality to oar h'tHLf/ry." 

— Anurtcan J/i-.l'jrif.al /Review, 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIPTH AVZHTO, HEW YORK 
BOSTON CHICAGO SAM FRAJfCUCO ATVA 



SELECT CHARTERS 

AND OTHER DOCUMENTS 

Illustrative of American History, 1 606-1775 

By WILLIAM MACDONALD 

Professor of History in Brown University 



12itio Cloth $2.00, net 



" This volume . . . supplements the author's previous work, entitled ' Select 
Documents Illustrative of the History of the United States, 1 776-1861.' The 
same sound judgment has been shown in the selection and the editing of the 
state papers, and the work is essential to every good reference library." 

— 77^^? Outlook. 

" Professor MacDonald shows good judgment in his selections, and his book 
should materially assist the teaching of American history. ... It will be 
a great convenience everywhere." — The Nation. 

" The work is a valuable contribution to historical literature, and will interest 
all students of American history." — The Green Bag. 

" Exceedingly valuable. The editor has placed students of American history 
under deep obligation to him." — Albany La^v Journal. 

" It has hitherto been exceedingly difficult to obtain copies of important 
documents bearing upon the colonial history of this country and their presen- 
tation in the form of a single book is much to be commended. ... A very 
readable work." — The American Lazvyer. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 

ON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO ATL^ 



OCT P-P' 1^03 



'%. 






•0- o* 



O 0^ 



\0 o^. 



'*^^\.o^ 






x\-' 



k- 















'/''^^^^.^ 



.^* -^ 



.x^^- 



-'■"^■^ -4 



o 0^ 






^.^' :^^ 









. ./V;^,\ 






' * - ^ ' .v\ 



V .^'•« 









s^^ 












'\'' 



o^.-:..%*-^V.>-. 



..^^ '-5... 












\,-' v- 



^.. v^^ 






c^^' .^ 



A^^''% 



'iS^'^'^'^0^ '^"^'^^^'.\. v:^^"^ 



v'?-^ "'^- 



^<;v .A- 



." -s^ %. 






»,%■ 



. ■<■, 



.,^' : -- 



y'W.:./% 






.^^^^ 



'^^^" 



^ '^ / » . s *> \^ 

,0 












^%:'^Wi ^ 






,0O^ 



<{ 



.^^ ■'^>. 






■^x ^"^ 
A^^" % 






% -^^ 

X^'' "-^ 



'^•>- .^^ 
> 



% ^' ,^' 



■ ,0 



.^^ "^.-, 






;'^^:;:i:5i^v^ 






^^:/- 



"^.< 



^^" ''^.. 



vO ^ J^ ' '/ C 



,^,^*t^>?*,/. -e.. . 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




011 412 785 1 



